In the recent case of Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School District Board of Education, 137 Ohio St.3d 469 (2013), a deeply divided Ohio Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of a public school science teacher, John Freshwater. In an opinion written by Justice O’Connor and joined by Justices French and O’Neill, with Judge Lanzinger only concurring in the syllabus, the Ohio Supreme Court held that John Freshwater could not be terminated for keeping his personal Bible on his desk, but his outspoken views on Christianity and other religious objects in the classroom justified his termination for “insubordination.” Three justices sharply dissented.
The highly publicized case of John Freshwater began in 2007, when Freshwater, an eighth grade science teacher and also the supervisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, used a Tesla coil to make a mark on a student’s arm during science class. Freshwater claimed it was simply the mark of an “X,” but the student’s parents complained it was in the shape of a cross.
The 2007 incident was the culmination of 20 years of on and off again controversy for Freshwater. His students regularly achieved average or above average scores on state standardized science tests. Freshwater, however, was a Christian who believed in Creationism and/or Intelligent Design. While he generally got strong performance evaluations, he was cautioned over the course of his career for advocating Christian Creationist beliefs in the classroom.
In 2007, Steven and Jennifer Dennis, the parents of the student who was marked with the Tesla coil, met with the interim district superintendent about the incident. They also complained about Freshwater’s involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. There were complaints that Freshwater was “not enforcing the required permission-slip policy for Fellowship of Christian Athletes events” and was contacting speakers himself rather than having students directly contact the speakers. Finally, and most pertinent here, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis also complained that Freshwater had religious materials in the classroom.
In April 2008, the principal met with Freshwater and asked him to remove his personal Bible from his desk and also a collage on the classroom window that included the Ten Commandments. Freshwater refused; instead he checked two books out of the school’s library, Jesus of Nazareth and The Oxford Bible and displayed them on a lab table in his classroom. This led to Freshwater’s termination for insubordination.
The Ohio Supreme Court found itself squarely in a legal, cultural and political debate on the Bible, Creationism, Freedom of Speech, and how these issues interact as a matter of law in Ohio’s public schools.
In a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court held that Freshwater could not be fired for keeping his own personal Bible on his desk. However, he could be fired for insubordination for his acts of displaying The Oxford Bible and Jesus of Nazareth books he checked out from the school library. Four of the Ohio Supreme Court Justices held Freshwater’s personal Bible was a protected statement about his religious beliefs. However, when Freshwater displayed two additional Christian objects, he engaged in insubordination. The Court did not address the remaining constitutional issues.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court did not reach issues related to the teaching of Creationism and Intelligent Design, there are several important aspects of the decision. First, it is clear that an Ohio public school teacher may have religious items on a personal desk. At least six of the Ohio Supreme Court Justices found this was a constitutional right for Ohio teachers.
Next, at least three Justices believed that Freshwater’s critical teaching of Evolution was protected speech in the classroom. While none of the other four Justices reached this conclusion, it is noteworthy that the Ohio Supreme Court did not uphold the dismissal of Freshwater for the way he taught Evolution, but instead for insubordination for displaying certain religious and political items.
Finally, and perhaps most controversial, is the Ohio Supreme Court’s willingness to distinguish between speech and activity that is protected because it was an actual religiously held viewpoint, as opposed to speech and religious activity that is done for “insubordination” purposes. One Bible was viewed by the Ohio Supreme Court as a personal religious item, but The Oxford Bible was viewed by the Ohio Supreme Court as insubordination. School officials will not be able to fire or discipline teachers unless they can show that the inclusion of religious items is an open act of defiance, amounting to insubordination.
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