# Declaration of Independence not allowed in school?



## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I know this story is 4 months old but it is intresting reading anyway.

In a season typified by lawsuits against manger scenes, crosses and even the words "Merry Christmas," a California case is taking the "separation of church and state" one step further – dealing with whether it's unconstitutional to read the Declaration of Independence in public school. 

Attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Monday against the Cupertino Union School District for prohibiting a teacher from providing supplemental handouts to students about American history because the historical documents contain some references to God and religion. 

"Throwing aside all common sense, the district has chosen to censor men such as George Washington and documents like the Declaration of Independence," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. "The district's actions conflict with American beliefs and are completely unconstitutional." 


Patricia Vidmar, principal of the Stevens Creek School, reportedly ordered the teacher, Stephen Williams, to submit his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to her for advance approval. Aside from Williams, a Christian, no other teachers were subject to the advance-screening requirement, says the ADF. 

Just what documents did Williams submit that were deemed unfit for the school's students? 

"Excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, the diaries of George Washington and John Adams, the writings of William Penn, and various state constitutions," said the public-interest law firm representing Willliams. 

"Less than 5 percent of all of Mr. Williams' supplemental handouts distributed throughout the school year contain references to God and Christianity," McCaleb said. "The district is simply attempting to cleanse all references to the Christian religion from our nation's history, and they are singling out Mr. Williams for discriminatory treatment. Their actions are unacceptable under both California and federal law." 

California's Education Code does allow "references to religion or references to or the use of religious literature … when such references or uses do not constitute instruction in religious principles … and when such references or uses are incidental to or illustrative of matters properly included in the course of study." 

The case, Stephen J. Williams v. Cupertino Union School District, et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division. 

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41623

So what do we get rid of next now that we are getting rid of history, Should we try Math?


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

:? what is the world coming to


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

ugh- thats horrible. history is not to be screened, it should be given how it was. kinda like how columbus is taught to kinder gartners, he's portrayed as a hero, a glorious explorer. he was actually neither, he was a trader trying to go to the indian ocean. you cant discover an area inhabited by a million people. In his journal he mocked the people there saying how primitive they were, he handed one a sword blade first and and the native american chopped off his finger grabbing it. but i guess they dont want to teach genocide to 1st graders.

something similar to this story is the words under god trying to be removed from the pledge of allegience. but what most people dont know is that those words were added in like 1950, because of the cold war and the red scare, we were trying to make us completely different than the communists.


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## Mr Aquarium (Jan 18, 2005)

> Lexus Wrote:
> what is the world coming to


I've been saying it for years, This counrty is headed for another Civil War, But nothing like what the last one was, this is going to be The People vs The US Goverment.
The younger ain't seeing this as much as the older people are, that is why the Goverment is trying to Turn Our Freedom to Comunizum right under our noses.
They Tax us, they Tax us a little more, then tax the hell out of us on everything else.
They wanna mess it up for the elderly people really bad, the sooner they can Kill them off the less their will be to tell the tale "The Real Truth" of how it is written and suppose to be.
Everything bad a young Person does, they blame it on Video Games,,,,,,,,,Come on...I been a video game playing fool sense the days of the old pinball machine and I ain't killed anyone yet and I use to Have sevreral guns.
Sure they don;t wanna teach these kids any Real History, A few more years down the road it;s will be something else for the next Generation that is in School and so on until there is nothing left to teach The Young People about what "Rights" we are suppose to have.
They are just setting us up to save there rear ends so we won;t be able to fight against them and be forced to live by their rules.


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