The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear the appeal of a Virginia teacher who claimed that his principal had wrongfully removed religious items from the bulletin board in the teacher’s public school classroom.
William Lee, who teaches Spanish at Tabb High School in the 12,800-student York County, Va., district, alleged that in 2004, his principal required him to remove such items as a news article about White House staff members who regularly gathered for Bible study and a poster about the presidentially proclaimed National Day of Prayer.
Mr. Lee sued the district, arguing that it had infringed on his right of free speech. He lost in both federal district and appellate court. The appellate court ruled that the teacher’s classroom postings were curricular in nature and thus were subject to oversight by school authorities.
The justices declined without comment to hear the teacher’s appeal in Lee v. York County School Division (Case No. 07-140).
For background, previous stories, and Web links read Religion in Schools.
