A Buddhist student attending Negreet High School in Sabine Parish, Louisiana alleged that a teacher referred to his religion as “stupid.” Also, there were reports that officials in the school would force Christian beliefs upon their students, and would incorporate prayers into classes. The student’s science teacher, Rita Roark, professed that the Bible is 100% true and that the Earth is “6,000 years old.”
The school denied it saying that they don’t encourage nor discourage religious activities, and won’t assign religious texts among other things. Marjorie Esman according to Huffingtonpost.com, states, “No child should feel that a teacher is trying to impose religious beliefs, and this agreement ensures that this will no longer be the case at Sabine Parish schools.”
On Friday the settlement was established. However it is not really a settlement. In the legal sense it is what is called a consent decree and it stipulates that there will be a $4,000 payment to the mother of the child so he can attend school in Many, Louisiana. Also, the school district of Sabine Parish has to provide the student with transportation and accommodate his transition to another school.
It is very interesting to think that people still want to impose their religious beliefs upon others. It is 2014 and people still feel justified ridiculing others based on their creed/religion especially since this school is a public institution. This kind of behavior took place at my High School as well. A teacher would always find a way to declare and enforce his ideas on the classroom.