Christian Teacher’s Lawsuit Settled

A San Jose federal court judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Cupertino schoolteacher who accused his principal and other officials of illegally forbidding him from teaching about the religious context of America’s founding.

U.S. District Judge James Ware dismissed the suit, filed by fifth-grade teacher and avowed “orthodox Christian” Stephen Williams, after both sides in the case agreed to a voluntary settlement.

Details of the agreement were not available. But Cupertino Union School District spokesman Jeremy Nishihara said there were no legal penalties or admission of liability by the district.

Williams filed his civil rights lawsuit in November 2004, accusing Stevens Creek Elementary School Principal Patricia Vidmar and other district officials of banning him from giving his students supplemental materials he had prepared on the country’s religious underpinnings.

Williams’ suit alleged that he had used excerpts from the Declaration of Independence in the banned materials, a contention the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund announced in a news release headlined “Declaration of Independence Banned From Classroom.”

The organization underwrote Williams’ suit.

District officials called that allegation absurd, pointing out that the Declaration of Independence is part of the Stevens Creek curriculum and that it is displayed in schools throughout the district.

The news release triggered a media storm, especially among conservative commentators and news organizations.

Within days, district officials were deluged by angry telephone calls, letters and e-mails from across the country.

Earlier this year, Ware tossed out all but one of Williams’ claims. In the remaining claim, Williams alleged that all other teachers were allowed to use similar supplemental materials while he was being restricted from using them because he is a Christian.

That last claim was dismissed along with the suit.

The settlement was reached “when both sides came to the agreement that the policy the Cupertino Union School District has had in place allows for the teaching of religion, provided it is age-appropriate and consistent with the district’s state-approved curriculum,” according to a statement released by the district late Thursday.

Neither Williams nor officials with the Alliance Defense Fund were available for comment.

The district’s Nishihara said that each side would pay its own legal costs, which he declined to estimate. He said Williams continues to teach in the district, although not at Stevens Creek Elementary.