Education Archives - American Atheists

American Atheists and Americans United Sue to Overturn Department of Education Regulation that Forces Universities to Fund Discrimination by Student Groups

American Atheists — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 20:21:37 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Today, the national civil rights organizations American Atheists and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, on behalf of the Secular Student Alliance and a California university student, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s Department of Education to challenge a recently published regulation that forces universities to financially support religious student groups that discriminate. “The Trump Administration is forcing colleges to choose between protecting students and losing federal funding, or allowing discrimination against students in order to keep federal financial assistance. That is unfair, unlawful, and just plain wrong. Discrimination has no place in our public colleges and universities,” said Richard B. Katskee, Vice President and Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Discriminating against any students in the name of religion jeopardizes religious freedom for all students.” The new rule requires public colleges and universities to exempt religious student clubs from nondiscrimination provisions that apply to all other student clubs that are officially recognized by the colleges and funded by activity fees paid by all students. The rule undermines the nondiscrimination policies that many colleges and universities have enacted to ensure that clubs don’t reject students from membership or leadership positions on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other protected characteristics. The lawsuit argues that former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos had no authority to issue this rule, ignored the harms the rule will cause to students and their colleges and universities, and imposed requirements that directly conflict with the U.S. Constitution as well as statutory nondiscrimination laws. The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to invalidate the new rule, which went into effect on November 23, 2020. “This unlawful rule was part of the Trump Administration’s campaign to pander to Christian nationalists and weaponize religious freedom to justify discrimination,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “Freedom of religion is a fundamental American value that protects everyone’s right to their beliefs, as long as they don’t harm others. It does not give people or organizations the right to ignore civil rights protections and discriminate.” American Atheists and Americans United are suing on behalf of Declan Galli, an LGBTQ sophomore at California Polytechnic State University, as well as the national nonreligious student organization the Secular Student Alliance. “I fear for my safety and the safety and mental health of my fellow students,” said Galli, an Episcopalian, who is a member of the Cal Poly Transgender and Queer Student Union and works as a student assistant at the university’s Student Diversity and Belonging office. “If colleges now have to promote student organizations that discriminate, it’s hard to believe the campus can keep us safe.” “This isn’t a hypothetical situation. Last year, a professor and a dozen students rallied on campus, shouting that being gay is a sin. This Department of Education regulation allows these same students to start a group that would discriminate against me while still receiving funding from the fees I’m required to pay,” added Galli. “No students should ever be forced to subsidize clubs […]

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With Homeschooling on the Rise, New Report Spotlights Lack of Regulations to Protect Homeschooled Children from Abuse

American Atheists — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 15:09:02 +0000

Washington, DC—With homeschooling on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the civil rights watchdog American Atheists is sounding the alarm on the lack of state-level laws protecting homeschooled children from child abuse and educational neglect. This announcement coincides with the release of the organization’s 2020 State of the Secular States report, the most comprehensive review ever conducted of statewide laws and policies affecting the separation of religion and government. The 2020 State of the Secular States report focuses on, among other categories, laws affecting youth and education, including homeschooling. The report’s findings include: Only 12 states require that homeschooling instructors (parents, guardians, or outside instructors) meet any qualification requirements. Only 9 states require at least annual evaluation of homeschooled students’ academic progress. Only 2 states—Arkansas and Pennsylvania—prevent homeschooling in households where an adult has been convicted of certain crimes, such as homicide, aggravated assault, rape, or child abuse. 13 states allow religious or other exemptions to homeschooling requirements. “With the number of families choosing homeschooling skyrocketing, states must pass laws to protect the growing number of homeschooled children from educational neglect and child abuse,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists and author of the new report. “Since 64% of parents homeschool their children ‘to provide religious instruction,’ according to the most recent statistics available, religious exemptions can thoroughly undermine the few state laws that protect children from educational deprivation and abuse. Nearly every state’s homeschooling laws are in dire need of reform.” Multiple states have reported on parents’ use of homeschooling to hide child abuse. For example, in 2018, the Connecticut Office of the Childhood Advocate revealed that 36% of children withdrawn from public schools to be homeschooled lived in likely abusive families. “The majority of these families had a history of multiple prior reports to [child protective services] of suspected child abuse or neglect,” found the report, which was commissioned following the death of homeschooler Matthew Tirado by his abusive mother. “Child advocates, advocates for responsible homeschooling, parents, and lawmakers must come together to pass reasonable homeschooling laws to prevent child abuse and educational neglect,” said Gill. The 2020 State of the Secular States report includes state-level scorecards for all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. In addition to homeschooling laws, each scorecard assesses more than 40 measures of state law and policy that affect religious equality and the separation of religion and government. States are grouped into three classifications based on how well they protect these essential components of religious freedom. Advocates and lawmakers can use them to determine, among other things, whether their states have homeschooling laws on instructor qualifications, testing and evaluation, child abuse prevention, and exemptions. View the full report and state scorecards at www.atheists.org/states.

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Nonreligious Young People Helped Put Biden in the White House. New Research Explores Who They Are.

American Atheists — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 15:00:50 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Today, the nonreligious advocacy organizations, American Atheists and the Secular Student Alliance, released The Tipping Point Generation: America’s Nonreligious Youth. The report, which draws on survey responses from nearly 34,000 nonreligious participants, including 3,421 nonreligious 18-24 year olds, provides an in-depth analysis of who nonreligious young people are, the issues they face, and their priorities. Nonreligious voters are likely the reason Joe Biden won the election, finds Ryan P. Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University. And according to recent research from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study and the Barna Group, today’s 18-24 years olds are the most nonreligious generation in the history of the United States. The Tipping Point Generation explores this important and growing subset of young people, who overwhelmingly supported Joe Biden. “We are at a tipping point in this country. With nearly half of today’s young people religiously unaffiliated, the Religious Right’s hold on power is slipping away. Both the Democratic and Republican parties will have to adjust and increasingly appeal to nonreligious voters. To do so, they will need to understand who nonreligious young people are,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. The Tipping Point Generation report found that there was a high rate of political involvement among the nonreligious youth surveyed, with more than four in five (82.7%) being registered to vote. The top policy priorities identified by these nonreligious youth were maintaining secular public schools, protecting youth from religion-based harm, and protecting the environment and addressing climate change. The report also found that nonreligious young people face significant stigma and discrimination. 33.6% of participants faced discrimination in education, 20.8% in volunteer work, 20.4% in mental health services, 15.4% in employment, 13.3% in accessing public services, and 12.2% from public businesses. “Unless you consider the nonreligious aspect of Generation Z’s identity, as well as the discrimination these young people face, you cannot fully understand who they are and what we need to do in our society to help them,” said Kevin Bolling, Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance. The report found different levels of discrimination according to an area’s level of religiosity. For example, nearly half (48.9%) of nonreligious young people surveyed faced education discrimination in very religious communities—concentrated in the South and the Midwest—compared to only one fifth in less religious communities, primarily located in the Pacific West and Northeast. “The religious oppression that nonreligious youth encounter in very religious communities has a lifelong impact and shapes who these youth are and how they think about religion,” added Gill. In very religious areas, nonreligious young people face an especially high level of family rejection, the report found. Among youth whose parents were aware of their beliefs, more than one third (37.5%) reported that their parents were somewhat or very unsupportive. In very religious communities, more than three quarters (77.9%) reported negative experiences with their families because of their nonreligious beliefs. Youth participants with very unsupportive parents were 45.4% more likely to screen positive for depression than those with very supportive parents. “To correctly serve his nonreligious youth constituents, Joe Biden must take into account their needs and priorities. Given […]

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Hawaii Discontinues Online Learning Program Full of Religious Propaganda Following Warning Letter from American Atheists

American Atheists — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 01:02:39 +0000

Honolulu, HI—November 17, 2020—Today, church/state separation watchdog organization American Atheists praised the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) for reviewing its online public school programs for religious, racist, and misogynistic content. HIDOE ultimately decided to discontinue its use of the online education system, Acellus Learning Accelerator. This decision comes after American Atheists sent a letter to Christina M. Kishimoto, the state superintendent of HIDOE, warning her about religious propaganda in online curricula. “This is a victory for the separation of religion and government. Hawaii public school students will no longer be subjected to unconstitutional religious, sexist, and racist propaganda,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. HIDOE included American Atheists’ letter as Exhibit 4 in its report (p. 74-79). In its executive summary, HIDOE’s Civil Rights Compliance Branch noted that American Atheists’ letter “should be viewed as a warning shot across the bow; the religious content in Acellus poses a significant risk of not ensuring the separation of church and state” (p. 45). “We are pleased that the Hawaii Department of Education heeded our warning about this national issue. Thankfully, our concerns did not fall on deaf ears. Ms. Kishimoto and her department conducted an impressively thorough review to rectify the situation,” said Gill. Among nearly a hundred infractions, HIDOE determined that Acellus was teaching religious legends—“Abraham and the Covenant,” “Moses and the Israelites,” “Soloman’s Temple,” “Jesus of Nazareth,” “Jesus: Parables and Teachings,” “Crucifixion of Jesus,” “Muhammad and the Angel Gabriel,” and “Christian Apostles and Churches”—as world history (p. 49-51). HIDOE notes that “this is religious instruction in a public school” and, on occasion, added that Acellus “presents Christian views as fact” (ibid.). In addition, some of Acellus’s content was deemed racist in nature. For example, HIDOE found that a grade 10 US History class on the First Great Awakening “infers that slaves were not human prior to experiencing religion” (p. 58). According to the last 23 pages of the report, Acellus removed much of the offending content, including the lessons on religious legends. It is unclear whether Acellus removed the content only from the lessons provided to Hawaii or if the same content was also eliminated for other public school systems using the program. “We are pleased that Acellus attempted to rectify the situation and that HIDOE engaged in such an extensive review process. This week, in Hawaii, kids won,” said Gill. “However, we are concerned that Acellus may be peddling this inappropriate religious content to other public schools systems, and so we will continue to investigate this matter.” In September, American Atheists prompted Edgenuity, another nationwide virtual learning provider, to remove similar religious content from its entire network. American Atheists is eager to take action to preserve the rights of students and parents to be free from religious instruction in our public schools. If the Acellus Learning Accelerator is being used in your school district, please let us know.

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Major Provider of Virtual Learning Services to Public Schools Removes Unconstitutional Religious Content

American Atheists — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:54:36 +0000

Washington, D.C.—September 30, 2020—Today, the church/state separation watchdog American Atheists announced that the nationwide online content provider, Edgenuity, has removed unconstitutional religious materials from public school online classes offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an email exchange with American Atheists earlier this month, Edgenuity recognized that this material was inappropriate and indicated it would look into correcting the problem with a subcontractor. Since then, American Atheists has received word from its members in Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, and Kansas that the unconstitutional content has been removed. “Edgenuity recognized the issue and acted swiftly and decisively in removing the unconstitutional religious content from its online curriculum,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, Litigation Counsel at American Atheists. “We are pleased with the outcome.” Edgenuity is one of the largest providers of virtual instruction in the United States. In 2019, even before COVID-19, Edgenuity claimed more than 4 million students and indicated that “its products and services are currently used in each of the top 10 largest school districts–as well as 21 of the 25 largest school districts–within the U.S.” “Edgenuity is living up to its image as a major online curriculum provider, and children of all faiths and none are seeing their religious freedom respected. This is a win-win situation for everyone,” added Blackwell. Materials obtained by American Atheists showed that a module of Third Grade Social Studies was teaching Bible stories, including Joseph of the Many-Colored Coat and the Tower of Babel, as social studies at public schools. “We and our members appreciate Edgenuity’s recognition that public school content should remain religiously neutral. That’s something every parent—whether atheist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any other religion—can agree on,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “Edgenuity did the right thing in protecting all students’ constitutional rights.” “While Edgenuity has removed these unconstitutional religious materials, there may be other service providers that continue to offer them,” warned Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. This month, the church/state watchdog sent advisory letters to state education chiefs in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, warning them that some virtual learning service providers had included this type of unconstitutional religious content in their curriculum. “Parents should not have to be the ones monitoring their children’s curriculum for unconstitutional materials,” added Gill. “It shouldn’t be there in the first place. We urge public schools to act as the first line of defense and carefully monitor the curriculum offered through these services to ensure compliance with the Constitution. Our children deserve nothing less.”

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American Atheists Warns Albuquerque Area School District about Religious Propaganda in Online Classes

American Atheists — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:55:11 +0000

Moriarty, NM—September 24, 2020—Today, the church/state watchdog American Atheists sent the Moriarty-Edgewood School District (MESD) an advisory letter, warning that its online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic include unconstitutional religious content. “The materials documented by our complainants explicitly promote elements of Christian theology and have no place in a public school curriculum. By advancing a particular religious viewpoint, MESD is violating the Establishment and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, article II, section 11 of the Constitution of the State of New Mexico, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” warns American Atheists’ letter. “The Moriarty-Edgewood School District must protect everyone’s religious freedom—not subject children to unwanted religious indoctrination,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, Litigation Counsel for American Atheists, who submitted the letter to MESD. Materials provided by members of the MESD community show that, for at least some classes and grade levels, the virtual instruction offered by education provider, Edgenuity, contains explicitly religious content. An entire module of Third Grade Social Studies teaches Bible stories, including Joseph of the Many-Colored Coat and the Tower of Babel, as social studies. One lesson even instructs students to make plant, animal, and human “forms” out of clay and “think about how you feel when you create, and then destroy, each of your forms. How does it feel to bring form out of nothing? How does it feel to create something out of a lump?” In an email to American Atheists, Edgenuity recognized that this material is not appropriate and indicated it is looking into how to correct the problem with a subcontractor. In the meantime, these class materials are still being provided to public school children. “If MESD does not immediately take steps to end this ongoing constitutional violation and remedy the harms it’s inflicted on families, we will take all legal actions necessary. Nothing is off the table,” said Blackwell. Since launching an investigation in early September, American Atheists has responded to similar complaints in Cincinnati and the Detroit suburbs. The church/state separation watchdog also successfully helped resolve a situation in Kansas, where the school district informed students that they did not need to complete the “ancient Hebrew culture” module of the social studies class.

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American Atheists Warns States Across the Country about Religious Propaganda in Online Public School Classes

American Atheists — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:35:47 +0000

Washington, D.C.—September 22, 2020 —The church/state separation watchdog American Atheists has sent advisory letters to education chiefs in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, warning that public schools’ online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic may include unconstitutional religious materials. Since launching an investigation in early September, American Atheists has received multiple complaints from families in Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, and Kansas. Many parents have cited a third grade Social Studies class offered by Edgenuity, an online education provider. The course in question, among other things, teaches Bible stories, including Joseph of the Many-Colored Coat and the Tower of Babel, as social studies. “I was stunned to see theology being taught to my child in the guise of social studies,” said Ryan Thibodeau, American Atheists’ Assistant State Director for Detroit, Michigan, whose 8-year old daughter must take this 3rd grade class. “I’ve received messages from concerned parents in my district who are seeing the obvious religious bias in other sections of the curriculum. This is a clear violation of church/state separation and must not be allowed to continue in public schools.” In an email to American Atheists, Edgenuity recognized that this material is not appropriate and indicated it is looking into how to correct the problem with a subcontractor. In the meantime, these class materials are still being provided to public school children. American Atheists views this as a warning flag that similar content may have made its way into materials provided by other virtual learning service providers. With the rise in virtual learning due to COVID-19, American Atheists warns that millions of students could be subjected to religious propaganda. For example, in 2019, even before the coronavirus pandemic, Edgenuity claimed more than 4 million students and boasted about “its products and services [being] used in each of the top 10 largest school districts–as well as 21 of the 25 largest school districts–within the U.S.” “This religious propaganda aimed at 3rd graders is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, Litigation Counsel at American Atheists. “That’s why we need officials to remain vigilant and prevent religious indoctrination creeping into public school classes. This type of religious coercion may result in liability for school districts.” American Atheists advises school districts to carefully review virtual learning curricula and materials for compliance with constitutional requirements, as well as state learning standards. In addition, the church/state watchdog signaled the importance of educators knowing that modules, units, and individual lessons provided by outside companies should not be taken out of their intended context. American Atheists has received complaints where materials that could be permissible in advanced high school English classes were instead stripped of their necessary context and taught to significantly younger students in a devotional manner. Finally, American Atheists has asked the state-level superintendents to communicate to school districts that students should not be penalized or in any way disadvantaged for refusing to participate in any assignments that promote religion generally or any particular religious beliefs. “No student should be pressured into accepting religious indoctrination from the government. That’s something all parents—be they Christian, nonreligious, or a religious minority—can agree […]

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New DeVos Education Regulation Forces Universities to Fund Discriminatory Religious Student Groups and Weakens Free Speech on College Campuses

American Atheists — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 19:50:06 +0000

Washington D.C.—Today, the national civil rights organization American Atheists condemned the Department of Education, led by Secretary Betsy DeVos, for publishing a final rule that, despite its claims of protecting free speech on college campuses, undermines free speech and enables discrimination. The regulation requires public and private colleges and universities to fund discriminatory religious groups that discriminate against would-be members. Under this new rule, the Department would especially privilege the speech and activities of religious student groups rather than applying the law neutrally. Many public colleges have all-comers policies, which stipulate that student groups must be open to all students in order for them to receive funding. However, with this final rule, the Department of Education is trying to force universities to abandon this Supreme Court validated policy and instead allow religious student groups to set membership and leadership requirements based on discriminatory beliefs. “College is a time of exploration and identity development, and colleges have the duty to foster an open environment for such flourishing,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists, who submitted comments opposing the rule earlier this year. “However, the Department of Education is trying to turn inclusive student groups that welcome all people from all walks of life into closed-member groups that discriminate against anyone unlike themselves.” “If it comes out that a student is LGBTQ, a single mother, or had an abortion, DeVos’s rule would allow the group to eject the student, discriminating against that person, all while receiving funding from taxpayers and other students through the public university. Such a policy would silence dissenters and discourage students from being open about their different identities, weakening free speech on college campuses,” added Gill. The Department of Education also absurdly claims that allowing closed-member groups to receive funding would “help,” for example, LGBTQ students, since they “would be able to organize student organizations that limited membership to only students who identify as LGBTQ.” “Religious groups want to discriminate, so Betsy DeVos incorrectly assumes all other groups want to do so as well. That’s the only way she can try to justify this discriminatory policy,” said Gill. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Rather than excluding non-identifying allies, minority groups often encourage inclusion and wider acceptance by the public at large. Clearly, DeVos has never heard of Gay-Straight Alliances or interfaith groups.” “The icing on the cake is that DeVos holds up these exclusionary policies as promoting diversity and pluralism,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “What DeVos is really doing is cloistering off religious students from the existence of atheists, religious minorities, and LGBTQ people, and trying to force all students to remain in their ideological bubbles. That’s not free speech. That’s a multiplication of echo chambers.” “If student groups want to turn away prospective members because of who they are, they can do so on their own dime. Taxpayers and other students shouldn’t be on the hook for funding this discrimination,” added Fish. The Department’s final rule also expands the types of educational institutions that can claim religious exemptions from complying with Title IX, which prevents education […]

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American Atheists Launches Investigation into Religious Propaganda in Online Public School Courses During COVID-19

American Atheists — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 20:05:29 +0000

Update: Edgenuity reached out to American Atheists on 9/9/2020, explaining that the undermentioned Grade 8 U.S. History class at Cincinnati Digital Academy contained content from Edgenuity’s Grade 11 American Literature class. American Atheists is continuing to investigate how religious content intended to be studied by 11th graders for the work’s literary and rhetorical dimensions made its way into a middle school U.S. History class. Cincinnati, OH—Today, the church/state separation watchdog American Atheists announced that it is launching an investigation into religious propaganda within online learning programs, which millions of students around the country are required to take part in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. American Atheists is specifically investigating Cincinnati Public Schools’ online learning courses taught by Edgenuity. This private company describes itself as part of Alpha Omega Publications, “a leading provider of PreK-12 Christian Curriculum, educational resources, and services to Christian schools and homeschool families worldwide.” In 2019, even before COVID-19, Edgenuity claimed more than 4 million students and boasted about “its products and services [being] used in each of the top 10 largest school districts–as well as 21 of the 25 largest school districts–within the U.S.” Now, with even more public school districts adopting virtual programs, American Atheists has serious concerns that millions of students are being subjected to religious indoctrination by Edgenuity and, potentially, other providers. “Public schools must protect everyone’s religious freedom—not force atheist parents and families from minority religions to subject their children to Christian indoctrination,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, Litigation Counsel for American Atheists, who submitted records requests to Cincinnati Public Schools on behalf of local parents. “The school district must see to it that all materials presented to students meet constitutional standards by being free of sectarian content. Schools that partner with companies to provide educational services need to be sure those programs meet the Constitution’s requirements.” Materials obtained by American Atheists show that in multiple courses at multiple grade levels, the curriculum provided by Edgenuity contains explicitly religious content that cannot be justified by Ohio’s Social Studies Learning Standards. An entire module of third grade Social Studies on “ancient Hebrew culture” is devoted to Bible stories, including Joseph of the Many-Colored Coat and the Tower of Babel. Students must recount the story, transcribe a summary, draw a pictorial representation of the tower, and explain Yahweh’s motivations. In an eighth grade U.S. History class, an Edgenuity instructor teaches Christian theology under the guise of the Great Awakening, uncritically reading sermons that promise eternal suffering for sinners; underlining important phrases like “full of the fire of wrath,” “You hang by a slender thread,” “divine wrath,” and “singe it, and burn it;” and discussing the afterlife and “what God has in store for them if they do not repent of their sins.” “For many parents, threats of hellfire and eternal damnation amount to nothing short of child abuse,” said Blackwell. “Whether taught by public school teachers or private instructors contracted by school districts, religious propaganda targeting students of any age, but particularly impressionable elementary and middle school students, has no place in the public school system.” American Atheists’ U.S. Secular Survey, the largest study of nonreligious […]

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American Atheists Blasts DeVos’s Assault on Religious Freedom and Vulnerable Minority Groups

American Atheists — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 20:21:42 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Today, American Atheists denounced guidance released by the Department of Education on Friday that uses language of religious freedom to attack the separation of religion and government, the very principle that allows for the religious freedom that every American enjoys. “Too many misinterpret the ‘separation of church and state’ as an invitation for government to separate people from their faith. In reality, the First Amendment doesn’t exist to protect us from religion. It exists to protect religion from government,” said Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a statement. “Betsy Devos and her cadre of religious extremists are reinterpreting the law for the sake of letting bigoted personal beliefs trump all other considerations, including essential nondiscrimination protections for vulnerable students,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “This is government sponsorship of discrimination couched in Orwellian language of religious freedom.” “Few figures in contemporary American history have been as destructive for religious freedom as Betsy DeVos. Ignoring the religious freedom of the large majority of Americans—who believe that religion cannot be used to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, people of color, women, religious minorities, and atheists—is an attack on religious freedom itself,” added Gill. In January of this year, DeVos proposed stripping discrimination protections from Americans receiving taxpayer-funded services from religious providers. Additionally, the Department of Education is trying to remove notice and referral protections, which inform recipients that they can receive similar, nondiscriminatory services by secular providers. “DeVos’s plan to remove protections for religious minorities and atheists lays bare her intention to help out her fellow conservative Christians—at the expense of all other religions and philosophical views. It’s symptomatic of her long-term goal of using religion to punish those who get in the way of her extremist agenda,” said Gill. Then, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Betsy DeVos repeatedly announced her intention to force school districts to redirect coronavirus relief funds from public schools to private, religious schools, many of which discriminate. For example, in July, the Department of Education released an interim final rule that prevents public schools from using coronavirus relief aid to benefit all students unless private, religious schools are provided with a proportional share of the aid. “For DeVos, religious freedom means enriching religious groups—and especially those that discriminate—with government funding,” said Gill. “Of course, she overlooks the fact that our country’s Founders held the exact opposite view.” In 1779, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” James Madison expressed the same sentiment in his Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, writing that not even “three pence” in taxes should go to religious education. “Nothing is more un-American than allowing powerful religious interest groups to invoke faith to get away with harming the powerless,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “It shocks the conscience to put the interests of discriminatory schools over the religious freedom of students. Then again, this is Betsy DeVos we’re talking about.” Image by Gage Skidmore under […]

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