Case Set Against (Christian) School That Fired Unwed, Pregnant Teacher

[truthpusher]

http://www.nbc13.com/education/5036497/detail.html?rss=bir&psp=news

Case Set Against School That Fired Unwed, Pregnant Teacher
--------------------
POSTED: 11:59 am CDT September 29, 2005
UPDATED: 5:04 pm CDT September 29, 2005
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BIRIMINGHAM, Ala. -- A case is set to begin in Birmingham federal court next month for a woman who is suing a Christian school that fired her after administrators learned she was unmarried and pregnant.

Tesana Lewis filed suit against Covenant Classical School of Trace Crossings, saying she was unfairly fired. The school contends her unwed pregnancy went against the values and religious principles taught there.

(snip)

Lawyers for the private religious school in Hoover say Lewis was fired because she was pregnant and unwed, which goes against the school's Christian teachings.

Her attorney states that whether she was married or not, the school fired Lewis because she was pregnant, a violation of the federal Title Seven, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, race and religion.

(snip)

complete story: http://www.nbc13.com/education/5036497/detail.html?rss=bir&psp=news

[Pacifist Patriot]

1. Hmmmm.....I'm not familiar with Jesus of Nazareth

instructing people to shit-can unmarried pregnant women. Can someone point me to that chapter and verse? Many thanks!

[deadparrot]

2. I think his mother would have something to say on it. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. LOL! You'd think.

[struggle4progress]

6. The Cherry Tree Carol

Joseph was an old man and an old man was he
When he wedded Mary in the land of Galilee

When Joseph was married and Mary home had got,
Mary proved with child, by whom Joseph knew not.

Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard good,
Where was cherries and berries, as red as any blood.

Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard green,
Where was berries and cherries, as thick as might be seen.

O then bespoke Mary, so meek and so mild:
"Pluck me a cherry, Joseph; they run so in my mind."

O then bespoke Joseph, with words most reviled:
"Let him pluck thee a cherry that brought thee with child."

O then bespoke Jesus, all in his mother's womb:
"Bow down, then, thou tallest tree, for my mother to have some!

"Go to the tree, Mother Mary, and it shall bow to thee,
And the highest branch of all shall bow down to your knee."

Then bowed down the tallest tree, it bent to Mary's hand;
Then she cried: "See, Joseph, I have cherries at command."

O then bespoke Joseph: "I have done Mary wrong.
So cheer up, my dearest, do not be cast down!"

Then Mary plucked a cherry, as red as any blood;
And she traveled onward, all with her heavy load.

http://www.goldenhindmusic.com/lyrics/CHERRYTR.html

[NC_Nurse]

3. Scuse me!

Where's the "Right to Life" Christians on this one? :shrug:

What? They don't want to support this woman to have this baby?!!!!?

Golly-gee-whillikers! They couldn't be complete a'hole hypocrites, could they?

:o

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. I think this is despicable

but let me play devil's advocate for a minute here.

First, since this is a private school, I don't think Title Seven applies. It is my understanding that unless the school is funded by tax dollars, they can discriminate all they want. But her attorney would be the expert, not me.

I also don't understand why she would expect to keep her job in a Christian school as an unmarried pregnant woman. I mean, it's kind of a no-brainer.

But at any rate, I hope she prevails and wins the suit.

[madmark]

9. I agree; awful behavior but not giving rise to civil liability.

[Book Lover]

12. If they threw out every sinner,

there'd be no one left on the payroll. Why select who you fire by sin?

[Maat]

13. Also, correct this law school graduate if I'm wrong, but ..

isn't there an 1st-Amendment-related exemption for religious organizations applicable?

In any case, they are big-time hypocrites.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Unless the school gets federal dollars,

they aren't obliged to abide by Title Seven regs.

[meganmonkey]

16. But aren't labor laws applicable to every employer

public or private? I don't know much about this law, but I imagine it would fall under that realm...

:shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. For schools,

the laws only apply if they get federal money.

[meganmonkey]

20. So they can discriminate?

Why wouldn't they have to follow labor laws, as an employer? Maybe I am missing something, but I though title 7 applied to all employers, not just gov't ones.

I'm confused..

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. I think the Title laws

only apply if they receive federal funds.

[meganmonkey]

25. Well that just sucks, then

I guess it makes sense - e.g. Catholic schools taught by nuns...but it certainly seems immoral to me, despite being legal.

:(

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. It is definitely immoral

but illegal? - I don't think so.

[SemperEadem]

36. but just because it's a private school doesn't mean

it hasn't gotten title 7 funds... have they partaken in that * initiative to blur the line between private and public schools? If they have, then they're liable, no?

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. True

So she may have a case. BUT I have taught in a couple private schools that were very reluctant to accept any federal dollars for precisely this reason - so they wouldn't be obliged to abide by Title regs.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon
the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief
against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the attorney
General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public
facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights,
to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a
Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the
"Civil Rights Act of 1964".

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html

[Maat]

21. That's where the exemption comes in.

When a religious org. establishes a social service agency, say, and they elect to receive public funding, they must establish a secular org. separate from their church org. And this new org must comply with the anti-discrimination protections.

But, as to their orgs which do not receive any federal or state funding, THEY get an exemption based upon the 1st-Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.

[nvliberal]

22. The school would argue it was part of their religious beliefs

to not have unwed, pregnant women at their school. The woman has no case. Nobody forced her to work in a private religious school.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. That's what I was thinking too n/t

[PaulaFarrell]

32. nobody forces you to work anywhere

If employers can claim exemption from something because it's 'against their beliefs' labour laws are useless

[Maat]

41. Yep, I'm afraid she will lose her case.

But maybe we can keep repeating the name of the school ... and show them for the coldhearted, arrogant jerks that they are; maybe their customer base will dry up.

[PassingFair]

39. If they receive "vouchers"

...then this should not happen.

By the way, what part of this sentence makes sense...

"I also don't understand why she would expect to keep her job in a Christian school as an unmarried pregnant woman."

Almost ALL unmarried pregnant women in this country ARE Christian. Should they all lose their jobs?

[VegasWolf]

7. Conservative traditional family values for all!! nt

[liberalhistorian]

8. How about Christ's "values and religious principles" of

caring, compassion in all circumstances, forgiveness, not judging harshly, etc., etc., etc.? Any fundie even hear of those anymore? As a gal who was herself unmarried when pregnant, shit like this truly infuriates me.

[Vogon_Glory]

10. The Borned-Agains' Next Step

I doubt that the so-called "born-gains" are really happy with just firing unwed, pregnant school teachers. I suspect that their real desire is to go back to the days when pregnant, MARRIED school teachers could also be fired for getting in a family way.

[Maat]

14. I think that you are correct, VogonGlory.

I think they want to go back to a very patriarchal, repressive society.

[area51]

11. Perhaps...

Perhaps they (school officials) were trying to tell her that it would've been better if she'd got an abortion. </sarcasm>

[Ilsa]

15. If a man working at the school got a woman, not his wife, pregnant,

would he be fired? Or would he get a raise since he would be owing child support?

[IndyJones]

29. Or if she decided to get an abortion so she would no longer be

pregnant, would that have been more acceptable to the school?

[onager]

17. And in a related story...

Christian School Expels Ontario Lesbian Couple's Child
Family Will Not Fight Expulsion

POSTED: 4:32 pm PDT September 23, 2005

Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School on Thursday.

"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, the girl's biological mother.

Stob wrote that school policy requires that at least one parent may not engage in practices "immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style, such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship," The Los Angeles Times reported in Friday's edition.

Shay and her parents said they won't fight the ruling. Stob told NBC4 that the expulsion was not a civil rights matter.

School administrators learned of the parents' relationship this week after Shay was reprimanded for talking to the crowd during a football game, Tina Clark said.

Clark and her partner, Mitzi Gray, have been together 22 years and have two other daughters, ages 9 and 19.

http://www.nbc4.tv/education/5014297/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news

[Spangle]

28. If she Aborted the Baby, could she keep her job?

I mean.. if the issue was being an unwed bother..

that would sove the problem.

[Kailassa]

30. They sacked her for not having an abortion.

The most efficient way to eliminate any belief in God is for institutions set up in the name of God to treat people like shit.

I used to think I was a Christian, until I realised how Christianity was being warped by present governments. So I read the old testament carefully, and realised I could never follow a religion with such a bloody, barbarious background.

I would like to encourage people though, who can feel the presence of spirit, to keep that awareness in their hearts, and not let the evils of today's religions overpower it.

[DoctorMyEyes]

31. What is the message they're sending to the students?

If you were a girl in this teachers class what message would you take from this? I think the school is hoping for something like "make sure I'm married before conceiving" - but, I think the lesson is more likely to be "hide your sins". These girls will be more likely to have abortions should they become pregnant, more likely to hide their pregnancies, run away from home in despair, and perhaps even damage themselves trying to provoke a miscarriage. And we wonder why fetuses and newborns end up in dumpsters...

[Nikia]

34. Well, when my mother was a teen

She had a friend who went to a local Catholic high school. This girl was class president, in National Honor Society, and was going to be the class valedictorian. When she got pregnant, she was informed that she no longer could be class president, in National Honor Society, or class valedictorian if she had the highest GPA. When she protested, they told her that she was lucky that they didn't expel her. I am not sure if that sort of thing happens at private religious high schools now or not.
The whole abortion angle reminds me of why my sister became strongly pro choice in high school. Many of the same anti abortion fundies made her feel firm in their beliefs. She had a couple friends who were pregnant and saw how they were treated. She said "They tell girls not to have abortions because to do so is a grievous sin yet when they see a pregnant girl they treat her much more like a sinner than the girl who had an abortion who they never knew was pregnant." If they are going to be anti abortion, they have to support pregnant women regardless of marital status. When they don't, they are actually supporting abortion. There are girls and women from "Christian" households who have abortions, against their moral judgement, because they couldn't stand how they would be treated as an unwed pregnant woman. This woman who is losing her livlihood is a perfect example of what happens when they continue their pregnancies.

[MountainLaurel]

35. It's not too different now

Even in public schools: I had a friend who was in the "Homebound" program (where a teacher comes by several times a week to tutor, check homework assignments, etc.) for about a month before and after giving birth at 16. Despite the fact that she was doing the same work as the students in class and was getting A-level grades on all her assignments and tests, she was told that she couldn't receive any As for the classes simply because she was on Homebound.

Yet, the daughter of the biology department head and the school librarian, who was on homebound for almost two years because of anorexia and related mental issues, was certainly given As in all her classes: She was one of the senior valedictorians, with a straight 4.0 average.

[SemperEadem]

37. the message is

boys can do whatever they wish, but girls will be held up for ridicule and abuse if they don't tow the line. Kind of sounds Taliban-ish to me.

[jmowreader]

33. Umm...churches are exempt from Title VII

Next thing ya know, we'll be freaking out about church schools firing teachers because they discover the teachers are Jews and Muslims.

Here's what I figure. The people who pony up the Big Bucks to send their kids to this institution want two things for their children: for them to walk down the aisle as virgins, and for them to go to Bob Jones University. And it's pretty damn hard to get the point across that waiting for sex until you've graduated from BJU and gotten married is more fun than actually having sex, when there's a teacher standing there who's a triple sinner: not married, not a BJU grad and pregnant.

I don't think she has a case, but I do think she's got a chance of getting a job that pays much more than being a teacher in a fundie school...you know, something really hard to get like cashier in a home improvement store.

[Bill McBlueState]

38. once again

Yet again, we have to make a special exemption in our laws so the religious can maintain their primitive morality. Wouldn't it be great if religious groups were really the moral leaders they claim to be, instead of massive anchors to progress?

[Tatiana]

40. This woman's case depends upon if the school received federal funds.

I would argue ANY federal funds, either through Title I, Dept. of Ag (free/reduced lunch), or VOUCHERS would cause this school to be under the requirements of Title VII.

If they haven't received any federal funds, sorry to say, but this woman probably doesn't have a leg to stand on.