Recent Development by N.S. Fletcher
Public school teachers, parents, and other individuals challenged the constitutionality of a Louisiana statute forbidding the teaching of evolution in Louisiana public schools unless the theory of creation science was also taught. The federal district court found initially that the legislative action violated the state's constitutional grant of authority over the public school system to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed and remanded the case after certifying the state constitutional question to the Louisiana Supreme Court. On remand, the district court held that the statute violated the establishment clause of the United States Constitution because it promoted religious beliefs and lacked a secular purpose. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, holding that the law's dominant purpose was religious even if the legislation's stated purpose was secular. A petition for a rehearing en banc was denied over dissent, and the United States Supreme Court noted probable jurisdiction. In a seven to two ruling, the Court held the statute facially invalid under the establishment clause because it failed to further its stated purpose of ‘protecting academic freedom’ and actually endorsed a particular religious belief. Edwards v. Aguillard, 107 S. Ct. 2573 (1987).
About the Author
N.S. Fletcher.
Citation
62 Tul. L. Rev. 261 (1987)