News: Rights Watch
Standing Up to Anti-Semitism

The Justice Department backs a Michigan teacher in a landmark religious harassment case.

In an unusual move, the U.S. Department of Justice has intervened on behalf of former high school teacher and NEA member Louis Owen in a religious harassment case filed against the L'Anse Area Schools in L'Anse, Michigan. Owen's lawsuit, filed in March 2000, alleges that the district violated his rights under federal law by failing to take any action to stop a campaign of threats and anti-Semitic harassment perpetrated by students.

Owen, who is Jewish, taught history at the L'Anse High School for more than 30 years.

According to the lawsuit, the harassment began during the 1996-97 school year when, on several occasions, students drew swastikas on his classroom walls. The harassment escalated over the next two years into overt threats.

In one incident, Owen discovered that a student had written this hate-filled message on a desk in his classroom:

"WHITE POWER"

"KILL OWEN"

"KKK"

"SKINHEAD"

"DIE JEWS"

Later, Owen found a hangman's noose on the doorknob in his classroom and the following inscription on a locker near his room: "Some people are alive because it [is] illegal to kill them."

According to his lawsuit, Owen complained to his principal and superintendent about each of these incidents, but they ignored his requests for help. In fact, the principal rhetorically asked Owen whether the noose incident was just a "prank."

Frustrated, Owen filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 1999, and then sued the school district in federal court.

His lawsuit alleges that the district failed to respond appropriately to his complaints of religious harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VII is the federal law prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of religion, as well as sex, race, color, and national origin.

"This is an important case," said Owen's attorney, Patricia Stamler. "School districts need to get the message that religious harassment--like any other form of harassment--is illegal. And if they don't respond to it in a prompt and appropriate manner, they're going to get sued."

The U.S. Department of Justice agrees.

In September 2000, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee certified Owen's lawsuit as a matter of "public importance" and filed papers in federal court to intervene on his behalf.

According to the court papers, the Justice Department wants to ensure that school districts nationwide reasonably respond to this form of harassment.

What's a reasonable response?

Schools should investigate all credible reports of harassment and take immediate and appropriate corrective action, said Stamler.

In his lawsuit, Owen is seeking damages, as well as an injunction requiring the district to enact effective anti-harassment policies in the future.

Sadly, he won't benefit from these policies.

Owen no longer works for the district. After taking extended medical leave due to the harassment, he retired from teaching shortly after the lawsuit was filed.

A jury trial is scheduled in Owen v. L'Anse Area Schools for August 20, 2001.

--Cynthia M. Chmielewski
NEA Office of General Counsel

Fallout from the Boy Scout Decision

Last fall, NEA Today reported on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court upheld the right of the Boy Scouts to deny membership to gay youth and leaders. But backlash against the Boy Scouts indicates that the group may pay a high price for this legal victory.

Already companies such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Levi Strauss, and Textron Inc. have cut financial support for the Boy Scouts. The city of Los Angeles has severed its ties to the group. And Reform Judaism and the Methodist and Episcopal Churches have called for an end to the anti-gay ban.

Additionally, at least 14 school districts nationwide, with approximately 2,613 schools, have terminated their sponsorship of Boy Scout troops, including the nation's largest public school district, the New York City Public School System.

In December, New York City School Chancellor Harold Levy barred all schools within the district from sponsoring Boy Scout troops or recruiting members during school hours.

"The board has a policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and my job is to enforce the board's policy," Levy explained.

Under his decision, however, the Boy Scouts will be permitted to continue using school space after hours.

That's not the case in Broward County, Florida. Last November, the school board unanimously voted to bar the Boy Scouts from using school property because the group's ban on gays violates a nondiscrimination provision in the agreement to use school facilities.

This decision has raised the ire of the Boy Scouts, which recently filed a lawsuit to stop the district. The group claims the board has infringed its rights of free expression and equal access to public facilities.

NEA is monitoring this litigation. Check this space for updates.

--C.M.C.