Thursday, September 25, 2014

California School Bans Books by Christian Authors

The superintendent of Springs Charter Schools in Temecula, CA has confirmed that this public school's library will not include any book written by a Christian.
“It is alarming that a school library would attempt to purge books from religious authors. Indeed, some of the greatest literature of Western Civilization comes from people of faith. Are they going to ban the sermons or speeches of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? What about the Declaration of Independence that invokes the laws of nature and nature’s God?”
-- Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI)
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

California Boots Christian Clubs Across the State

California Univ. Fires Scientist for Being Christian

California School Lawyers Strip Student's Jesus Speech

California School Pushes Porn Sex Ed, Parents Outraged

Texas Teacher Confiscates Bible from Second-grader

Satanic Book Distribution in Florida Schools

Jesus Slammed in New Hampshire School Required Reading

Child Pornography Allowed by Illinois Library Vote

Librarians Hail Kids' Homosexual Indoctrination Books

Illinois School Board OKs Kids' Demands for Dirty Book

Also read Education Experts Say: Relax Parents, Sexting Simply How Kids Flirt Today

-- From "California charter school pulls Christian books, authors from their shelves" by Kaye Wonderhouse, The Global Dispatch 9/23/14

The superintendent of Springs Charter School Kathleen Hermsmeyer replied to a cease-and-desist letter from PJI lawyer Michael Peffer: “We do not allow sectarian materials on our state-authorized lending shelves.”

The school, which is stated to be “created and operated by parents” according to its “Vision and Mission” page on its website, also outlines, “We value parent choice and involvement, using the community as the classroom, fostering a child’s innate creativity, collaborating to achieve goals, building relationships, and personalizing learning.”

PJI says that they were contacted by a concerned parent whose children attend the school, who noted that books such as The Hiding Place, written by Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, were being removed from the shelves.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "School accused of 'purging' Christian books" by Todd Starnes, FoxNews.com 9/23/14


“[The parent] was told by one of the library attendants that the library has been instructed to remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians, or published by a Christian publishing company,” read a letter PJI sent to the public charter school. “The attendant advised that the library would no longer be carrying those books. Indeed, our client was told that the library was giving those books away, and she actually took some.”

Dacus said the charter school must reverse “their ill-conceived and illegal book-banning policy.” If they fail to do so, he said, PJI is prepared to take further legal action.

Pacific Justice Institute said the charter school has violated the First Amendment. They cited a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that said “local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’” If you’d like to read the entire case – it’s “Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read latest California news:

California Forces Catholics to Fund Abortion Insurance

California School Rejects 'Anti-Gay' Food Donation from Christian

California City Official Yanked: Caught Reading Bible

To Avoid Rape, Must Videotape — New California Law