Webster v. New Lenox School District
Encyclopedia
Webster v. New Lenox School District was a 1990 court case in New Lenox
, Illinois
, in which a social studies teacher Ray Webster sued his school district which he accused of violating his first amendment right to free speech for stopping him from teaching "creation science
" in class. The court found however that the school district had a right to restrict Webster to teaching the specified curriculum, and that in any case the teaching of "creation science
" was illegal, having been ruled to violate the establishment clause in the US Supreme Court Edwards v. Aguillard
(1987).
The case hinged on the school district's "pedagogical interest in establishing the curriculum and legitimate concern with possible establishment clause violations".
Webster appealed and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
affirmed the District Court's original decision deciding "teaching creation science for any reason was a form of religious advocacy."
New Lenox, Illinois
New Lenox is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village population is estimated to be 24,938 as of 2006. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning forecasts New Lenox will have a population of 90,652 in 2030.-Geography:...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in which a social studies teacher Ray Webster sued his school district which he accused of violating his first amendment right to free speech for stopping him from teaching "creation science
Creation science
Creation Science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove generally accepted scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about the history of the Earth, cosmology...
" in class. The court found however that the school district had a right to restrict Webster to teaching the specified curriculum, and that in any case the teaching of "creation science
Creation science
Creation Science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove generally accepted scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about the history of the Earth, cosmology...
" was illegal, having been ruled to violate the establishment clause in the US Supreme Court Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards v. Aguillard, was a legal case about the teaching of creationism that was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law...
(1987).
The case hinged on the school district's "pedagogical interest in establishing the curriculum and legitimate concern with possible establishment clause violations".
Webster appealed and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...
affirmed the District Court's original decision deciding "teaching creation science for any reason was a form of religious advocacy."