Stark v. Independent School District #640

We successfully defended a school district in Minnesota that provided a one-room schoolhouse for children whose parents objected to certain portions of the curriculum on the grounds that the lessons violated their freedom of conscience. The students and their parents, members of the Plymouth Brethren, believe in living a simple life free from many modern technologies, much like the Amish. To accommodate their beliefs, the school district set up a school that focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic, and which did not use televisions, VCR's and computers as teaching tools. The teacher is a regular school district teacher, the school is open to any children whose parents want a more traditional education--not just Plymouth Brethren children, and the curriculum has no religious instruction.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled that it did not matter that the school had no religious content: what was determinative was that the school district's intent was to aid a religious group, and therefore the school district had violated the Establishment Clause.  However, the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that there was no constitutional violation.  The Court stated:

As we have discussed, the district has acted neutrally in this case towards the citizens of the district regarding the decision to open the school in Vesta and in applying the exemption policy.  Thus, the district has not made anyone's adherence to religion relevant to their standing in the community and consequently has not endorsed religion or a set of religious beliefs.