School teacher loses appeal to display religious items in classroom

A high school teacher in Buffalo, New York lost her appeal to display religious items, including a poster with a Bible verse, inside the classroom.

Joelle Silver, who teaches biology and anatomy, was ordered to remove any religious items from her classroom by the Cheektowaga Central School District in 2012 after a complaint from the Freedom of Religion Foundation (FRFF).

She filed a lawsuit against the school district in a federal court in 2013 believing that the mandate was unconstitutional. In 2014, the court ruled in favor of the school district stating that the display of religious materials in the classroom was inappropriate.

This month, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected her argument that the school district limited her right to religious expression and violated her right to free speech, according to a report from Buffalo News.

One of the items in question was a poster with a verse from 1 Corinthians 6:13-14 which stated: "Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done in love."

Another item was a printout of a quote from former President Ronald Reagan, which read: "Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience. ... Without God there is a coarsening of the society. Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. ... If ever we forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

The school superintendent told Silver to remove the posters and other religious items and instructed her to keep religious messages in a discreet folder if she wishes to look at them occasionally.

Silver was backed by the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) in her legal battle. AFLC Co-founder Robert Muise stated that the public officials effectively ordered Silver to "cease being a Christian while she is on school property."

He added that the mandate was in direct violation of the First Amendment as well as the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In the original ruling, Judge Leslie Foschio said that Silver's rights have not been infringed when she was ordered to remove the religious messages.

The appeals court upheld Foschio's ruling but Silver may still take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.