During the Summer of 2009, the State of Oregon effectively rubber stamped a law which prevents observant Sikh Americans from working as public school teachers in the state of Oregon. Although the law was originally enacted by followers of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1920s to keep Catholic nuns out of public schools, today it is undermining the civil rights of Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. SALDEF is working hard to ensure that when the Oregon legislature addresses this issue in February 2010, we give a final burial to the KKK in Oregon and move one step closer to giving all Americans the right to practice their faith. Making history is not easy! We can only do this with your continued support – Donate $21, $51, $101, or $501 a month to allow us to continue and expand our work in 2010! Timeline of SALDEF initiated efforts to get Sikh Americans the right to teach in Oregon public schools: July 14, 2009 – SALDEF issues protest letter to Oregon Governor July 15, 2009 – Oregonian newspaper covers SALDEF’s protest July 16, 2009 – Oregonian editorial board condemns the KKK law July 24, 2009 – SALDEF writes to the Department of Justice August 31, 2009 – Department of Justice responds November 19, 2009 – Oregon state agencies condemn the KKK law November 23, 2009 – Oregon House Speaker spearheads effort to overturn the KKK law January 13, 2010 – SALDEF Representative Delivers Testimony to House Education Committee February 4, 2010 — SALDEF Joins 16 National Groups to Deliver Letter to Oregon Legislature February 10, 2010 – Oregon House Passes Bill 51-8 February 21, 2010 — SALDEF Submits Senate Floor Memorandum February 23, 2010 — Oregon Senate Votes Resoundingly in Favor of HB 3686 February 23, 2010 – SALDEF Participates in Meeting with Department of Justice Representative in Oregon This issue has received mainstream print, radio and television exposure including the Daily Oregonian,KATU-TV Portland, National Public Radio, New York Times, New York Newsday, the Mail Tribune, and the Washington Post. We can only do this work with YOUR support. Consider donating $21, $51, $101, or $501 month to SALDEF for the next year to continue and expand our work and make sure that we can stand up for your rights and those of ALL Sikh Americans. Click here to donate now!
Help Us Protect Sikh American Teachers in 2010!
During the Summer of 2009, the State of Oregon effectively rubber stamped a law which prevents observant Sikh Americans from working as public school teachers in the state of Oregon. Although the law was originally enacted by followers of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1920s to keep Catholic nuns out of public schools, today it is undermining the civil rights of Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. SALDEF is working hard to ensure that when the Oregon legislature addresses this issue in February 2010, we give a final burial to the KKK in Oregon and move one step closer to giving all Americans the right to practice their faith. Making history is not easy! We can only do this with your continued support – Donate $21, $51, $101, or $501 a month to allow us to continue and expand our work in 2010! Timeline of SALDEF initiated efforts to get Sikh Americans the right to teach in Oregon public schools: July 14, 2009 – SALDEF issues protest letter to Oregon Governor July 15, 2009 – Oregonian newspaper covers SALDEF’s protest July 16, 2009 – Oregonian editorial board condemns the KKK law July 24, 2009 – SALDEF writes to the Department of Justice August 31, 2009 – Department of Justice responds November 19, 2009 – Oregon state agencies condemn the KKK law November 23, 2009 – Oregon House Speaker spearheads effort to overturn the KKK law January 13, 2010 – SALDEF Representative Delivers Testimony to House Education Committee February 4, 2010 — SALDEF Joins 16 National Groups to Deliver Letter to Oregon Legislature February 10, 2010 – Oregon House Passes Bill 51-8 February 21, 2010 — SALDEF Submits Senate Floor Memorandum February 23, 2010 — Oregon Senate Votes Resoundingly in Favor of HB 3686 February 23, 2010 – SALDEF Participates in Meeting with Department of Justice Representative in Oregon This issue has received mainstream print, radio and television exposure including the Daily Oregonian,KATU-TV Portland, National Public Radio, New York Times, New York Newsday, the Mail Tribune, and the Washington Post. We can only do this work with YOUR support. Consider donating $21, $51, $101, or $501 month to SALDEF for the next year to continue and expand our work and make sure that we can stand up for your rights and those of ALL Sikh Americans. Click here to donate now!
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 2, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A law backed by the Ku Klux Klan nearly a century ago to keep Catholics out of public schools is still on the books in Oregon, one of the last states in the nation to prohibit teachers from wearing religious clothing in classrooms.
Both Pennsylvania and Nebraska have similar laws, which try to balance the constitutional conflict between protecting students from the establishment of religion in schools and the rights of teachers to express their beliefs through their dress.
Oregon”s law, originally aimed at priest collars and nun habits, survived a legal challenge in the 1980s by a Sikh convert who wanted to wear her turban in the classroom and was recently upheld by the state”s Legislature.
A Muslim teacher in Pennsylvania lost a similar challenge in 1991 to that state”s even older law for the right to wear a headscarf at school. So far, it has not posed any serious legal issues in Nebraska.
That such a law still exists was a surprise for many Oregonians who learned about it when Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act in July, allowing workers to wear religious clothing on the job.
But the did law did not change the ban for teachers enacted in the 1920s, after that portion was opposed by the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on the grounds that impressionable children should not feel indoctrinated by their teachers.
The laws” existence also surprised Mona Elgindy, a law student at Loyola University in Chicago who wrote a paper on the issue. She is a Muslim and a former teacher.
“”I kept doing research and research, and thought I must be finding something that”s overruling this, or repealing the law, and there was nothing,”” Elgindy said.
In her paper, one of the few studies on religious clothing laws in recent years, Elgindy noted she could find no evidence that the laws statutes have ever been invoked by students. Rather, the recent legal history has been created by teachers trying to keep their jobs after administrators confronted them.
Court rulings in both Oregon and federal court in Pennsylvania rejected the claims by teachers and pointed out conflicts with the First Amendment: Teachers have a constitutional right to freedom of religion, but school districts must avoid supporting any religion.
Michael Kaufman, one of Elgindy”s professors and an education law expert, said laws banning religious clothing used to be fairly common. But there has been a gradual shift away from them to protect teachers” religious freedom as long as it does not disrupt the classroom.
“”It”s now sort of gone full circle,”” Kaufman said. “”The law now requires neutrality regarding religion, meaning the states or schools can neither favor nor disfavor religion.””
The few remaining bans “”are really suspect constitutionally now,”” he said.
During her eight years as a teacher in the Chicago area, Elgindy says she never ran into a conflict over her style of dress and covering her hair.
“”It never was something that seemed to be in the way of my being a teacher,”” she said, adding it was often the opposite reaction. “”They said, “Here”s somebody of a different background who can bring diversity to the staff.” It was always seen as positive thing.””
An example of a shift in court attitude may have been signaled when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in 1999 that Muslim police officers in Newark, N.J., must be allowed to wear beards.
Tom Hutton, senior staff attorney for the National School Boards Association, said he did not know of any significant pending cases that might test the bans.
“”It”s really anybody”s guess, but my own personal view is it would be more of an uphill battle to defend a religious garb statute than attack it,”” Hutton said.
Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt wanted to include teachers in the new workplace law. But it was opposed by the ACLU during a legislative session dominated by the recession and one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.
Dave Fidanque, ACLU executive director for Oregon, said the law helps ensure religious neutrality in public schools even though times have changed. “”It”s not an easy issue,”” he said.
Schools have been battlegrounds because “”those who feel very strongly that their particular brand of religion is best feel the need to have their religion endorsed by public schools to attract more followers to their beliefs,”” Fidanque said.
The battle has not changed much since the 19th century when Pennsylvania voters passed a law in 1895 aimed at preventing nuns from wearing religious clothing in schools, said Stuart Knade, attorney for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
The effort to ensure religious neutrality in schools came from parents who had the strongest religious beliefs, “”so there”s an interesting irony there,”” Knade said.
Rajdeep Singh Jolly, legal director for the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, both say the laws are not only unconstitutional, but discriminatory because their enforcement now tends to fall on minorities.
The Sikh group has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether the Oregon law violates Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, and received a letter this week saying the department would give it “”careful consideration.””
Jolly and Hooper say the best way to deal with any problem involving religion in classrooms is to discipline teachers if they try to proselytize students or advocate favoring a particular religion, not for the way they dress.
“”I think it”s perfectly reasonable to expect that teachers will not talk about their religion in the classroom,”” Jolly said.
But when it comes to a Sikh turban or other clothing, he asked: “”Why should I have to surrender something that is such an integral part of my life in order to pursue a career? It just doesn”t make sense.””
July 22, 2009 (Washington, DC) – The State of Oregon recently enacted a law called the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). Although this should have generated fanfare among religious minorities, for whom there is insufficient protection under federal employment discrimination laws, Oregon”s WRFA has, in fact, generated enormous protest among Sikh Americans and a diverse coalition of religious groups and civil libertarians throughout the nation.
What is the problem?
The problem is that Oregon”s WRFA does not apply to public school teachers who wear religious clothing in private adherence to faith. Although Oregon”s WRFA undoubtedly expands workplace religious freedom for most Oregonians, the public school exemption was designed to preserve an archaic law—enacted with the support of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s—which forbids public school teachers from wearing any form of religious clothing. In effect, observant Sikhs, Muslims, Jews—and others who wear religious clothing in private adherence to faith—are shut out of the teaching profession in Oregon. With the possible exception of Pennsylvania, no other state in the country restricts public school teachers in this manner.
When did the Ku Klux Klan come into the picture?
Oregon’s teacher garb law was enacted nearly a century ago by sympathizers of the Ku Klux Klan for the purpose of suppressing Catholics. According to The Oregon Bluebook, an official publication of the State of Oregon about its own history:
| “The Ku Klux Klan enjoyed a warm reception from many Oregon communities in the 1920s as Catholics and minorities suffered both blatant and subtle bigotry. The Klan, FOPS, and Scottish Rite Masons sponsored a bill, passed in 1922 in the general election, to compel all children to attend public schools. The overtly anti-Catholic measure threatened to close all parochial schools and military academies … The legislature also passed a law forbidding wearing of sectarian clothing, namely priestly vestments or nuns” habits, in classrooms.” |
What is SALDEF’s position on this issue?
The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) rejects Oregon’s antiquated and immoral teacher garb law and demands an immediate repeal.
What can I do to help?
LEARN ABOUT THE ISSUE
Sikhs protest school exemption in Oregon religious freedom bill (The Oregonian)
Law denying teachers religious freedom is repugnant and should be repealed (Mail Tribune Editorial)
Oregon law is too strict on teachers” religious garb (The Oregonian Editorial)
Does religious clothing have a place in the classroom (KATU TV – Portland)
(Dave Ross Show – KIRO 97.3 FM)
Oregon’s Fashion Police (Washington Post)
SPREAD THE WORD
Most people do not know that the Oregon teacher garb statute was enacted in the 1920s by the Ku Klux Klan for the purpose of suppressing Catholics. Please distribute this advisory to your friends and family and also to your local Gurdwara and visit the SALDEF website for updates. Because this issue affects all Americans, please reach out to your friends in the interfaith community and spread the word about what is happening in Oregon.
TAKE ACTION
If you live in Oregon, please contact your state representative and ask them whether they can commit to moving beyond the 1920s and repealing Oregon”s teacher garb statute during the next legislative session. The Oregon garb statute is a sad and repugnant legacy of the Ku Klux Klan and deserves to be given a final burial by all Americans.
Please distribute this to family, friends, and at your local Gurdwara
A bill passed by the Oregon Legislature that broadens religious freedom in the workplace has prompted protests by some faith leaders because it exempts schools. The bill requires employers to allow workers to wear certain clothing, grow beards and take certain days off to observe their religious practices. But it specifically carves out school districts in Oregon, one of two states that expressly forbid teachers from wearing religious clothing. The exemption drew the ire of some groups, especially Sikhs, whose members wear turbans and other distinctive clothes — and have been barred from teaching in Oregon as a result. The new law “fails in its essence if it doesn’t honestly and comprehensively provide religious freedom for all Oregonians,” said Rajdeep Singh Jolly, law director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Washington, D.C. “It smacks of irony,” Jolly said of the bill, which was hailed by legislative leaders as improving the climate for diverse religions in Oregon. “It takes two steps forward and 10 steps back.” The bill, titled the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, grants workers wide religious leeway as long as the activity, clothing or other practices don’t cause an undue hardship on the employer. Religious organizations typically applaud such measures. But the school exemption has highlighted what some think is a glaring hole in Oregon’s efforts to expand religious freedoms. “It seems like it would apply to a Muslim woman wearing a hijab or a Jew wearing a yarmulke,” said Richard Foltin, director of national and legislative affairs for the American Jewish Committee in Washington, D.C. “We’re especially concerned about that.” Oregon has had a law on the books for decades that states, “No teacher in any public school shall wear any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher.” Pennsylvania has a similar law. Oregon’s law was tested in the 1980s, when a Sikh teacher was suspended from her job as a Eugene special-education teacher for wearing a white turban and white clothes to class. The case went to the Oregon Supreme Court, which upheld the suspension. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. “The underlying policy reflects the unique position that teachers occupy,” said Jake Weigler, spokesman for the state Department of Education. “In this case, the concern that a public school teacher would be imparting religious values to their students outweighs that teacher’s right to free expression.” Sikhs tend to stand out in such cases because the religion requires members to wear turbans, said Hari Nam Singh Khalsa, a Portland attorney who said a judge once told him to remove his “hat” or leave the courtroom. After a discussion in the judge’s chamber, the matter never came up again. Khalsa said he understands that schools present a tricky problem because of the clash between freedom of expression and church-state separation. But, he said, “It’s hard for me to imagine that just because somebody is wearing something that is required by their religion that this is in any way suggestive to students of an endorsement of the religion.” Jolly, the Sikh legal fund representative, has written a letter to Gov. Ted Kulongoski urging a veto of the bill. A spokeswoman for Kulongoski said the governor expects to sign the bill because vetoing it would not change Oregon’s law prohibiting teachers from wearing religious garb. Yet even the bill’s strongest champion, House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, admits it falls short. He said he offered a similar bill in 2007 that would have allowed teachers to wear religious clothing, but it didn’t pass. “I think all Oregon workers should have the right to freely exercise their religion and do their job,” Hunt said. But the bill didn’t have the votes to pass without the exclusion for teachers, he said. “It was one of those legislative compromises you do.” — Harry Esteve; harryesteve@news.oregonian.com http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/07/school_exemption_in_religious.html Daily Oregonian
July 14, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Today, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)—the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—urged Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to veto a bill that effectively rubber-stamps a state law that forbids public school teachers from wearing any form of religious clothing. The Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786), which was passed by the Oregon legislature last May, contemplates greater religious freedom for employees but exempts public schools from its coverage. This is because Oregon law forbids individuals from wearing “any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher.” Even if the bill is signed into law, observant Sikh Americans would still be barred from working as teachers in the public schools of Oregon because of their religiously-mandated dastaars (turbans), and observant Jews and Muslims in the state would also be forced to choose between religious freedom and a teaching career. “There is a gaping hole in the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act,” said Rajdeep Singh Jolly, SALDEF’s Director of Law and Policy. “On one hand, it says that an employer can’t fire you because you wear a religious headcovering; on the other hand, it effectively says that the school board can fire you because you wear a kippah or a dastaar. This isn’t workplace religious freedom; this is a farce, and it reminds all of us just how precarious religious freedom really is, even in 2009, and even in the United States. ”
SALDEF to partner with Poway Unified School District on Anti-Bullying Program Washington DC; January 15, 2009 — The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, has entered into a proactive partnership with the Poway Unified School District in San Diego to ensure that Sikh American students enjoy a safe and nurturing learning environment. Soon after announcing an anti-bullying partnership with a junior high school near San Francisco, SALDEF was alerted to an incident at a San Diego school in which a teacher made rude comments about a Sikh American student’s dastaar (Sikh turban). SALDEF engaged both school and district authorities to ensure that this incident was documented and dealt with in an appropriate manner. Recognizing the sensitivity of this matter, school officials issued a formal apology to the student and his family; secured an apology from the teacher; and took other steps to rectify the situation, including partnership with SALDEF on administering a district wide anti-bullying program. This collaboration will include the integration of SALDEF resources into a district-wide school bullying survey to ensure that the experiences of Sikh American students are taken into account. Additional projects are being planned to strengthen this partnership and create greater awareness about Sikh Americans and the problem of school bullying. “The Poway Unified School District has taken major steps toward creating a positive learning environment for Sikh American students,” said SALDEF Legal Director Rajdeep Singh Jolly. “We hope that school districts across the country will follow the example of the Poway Unified School District. SALDEF is particularly grateful to Mr. Hari Bhagat Singh, Associate Superintendent William Chiment, Ms. Sabriya Pedretti, and Dr. Tom McCoy for their leadership.” SALDEF will continue to work with school officials to foster collaboration with the Sikh American community. If you believe that your child is experiencing difficulties in school, please contact SALDEF immediately at education@saldef.org or by phone at (202) 393-2700 so that your concerns can be addressed.
Tell SALDEF if you have ever sought a public school teaching job in Oregon or Pennsylvania
April 22, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Yesterday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, met with Department of Justice officials and noted that observant Sikhs are effectively prohibited by law from working as public school teachers in Oregon and Pennsylvania. Please tell us if you have ever sought a public school teaching job in Oregon! Send an email to legal@saldef.org or contact us by phone at (202) 393-2700 Ext 131. Please tell us if you have ever sought a public school teaching job in Pennsylvania! Send an email to legal@saldef.org or contact us by phone at (202) 393-2700 Ext 131. These laws constitute a modern form of segregation. Apart from being un-American and potentially illegal, they effectively prohibit observant Sikh Americans from pursuing teaching careers in Oregon and Pennsylvania and reinforce bias and ignorance of the sort that underlies hate crimes, discrimination, and school bullying against Sikh Americans.
Washington, DC – October 7, 2008: Last week, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, was alerted to incidents of bullying and harassment at a San Francisco Bay Area junior high school, involving Sikh American students who wear daastars (Sikh turbans) and maintain their long kesh (uncut hair). School officials proactively contacted SALDEF to arrange a presentation for the entire student body, numbering over 300, about the Sikh faith, customs and articles of faith. The presentation, conducted by SALDEF’s Managing Director Kavneet Singh, was extremely well received by both the students and faculty alike. In fact, at the request of SALDEF, the faculty and administration of the school have agreed to organize an internal presentation which will:
- Familiarize school officials with the religious practices and beliefs of Sikhs;
- Better position teachers and administrators to identify how Sikhs are targeted by and subjected to harassment and bullying by their fellow classmates; and,
- Learn strategies to prevent this harassment from happening in their school.
“We commend the school officials for their vigilance in meeting the needs of their Sikh American children, and in making sure that these incidents didn’t escalate into something much bigger,” said SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “Knowing how to interact with the community and develop greater partnerships before something happens is the key to ensuring safety and greater appreciation for the diversity of our nation’s communities.” SALDEF has worked with school districts in the past, most notably in 2004 when the Fremont School District in California’s Bay Area, required their entire staff and faculty to view a taped presentation of SALDEF’s Introduction to Sikhism and How to Best Interact with Sikh American School Children. Also earlier this year, SALDEF was requested to make presentations to three Montgomery County Maryland Schools to prevent hate and bias attacks, in the wake of an attack on two elder Sikh American men. SALDEF will continue to work with school officials to help them develop better understanding and appreciation for the Sikh American community. If you believe that your child is experiencing difficulties in school, contact SALDEF immediately at education@saldef.org so that your concerns can be addressed before the incidents escalate.
SALDEF defends Sikh convert’s right to maintain the Sikh identity in Alabama Public High School Washington D.C. – May 15, 2007: Last week, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the country, successfully represented a 15 year old Alabama high school student who was allowed to return to school after being kicked out of Good Hope High School for keeping his hair uncut and wearing his patka – a religiously mandated Sikh head covering. Earlier this Spring, while researching religion on the internet, Mr. Tommy DeForest came across the Sikh faith and immediately felt an affinity for the faith. After reading more about the religion, Mr. DeForest started to keep his hair uncut and wear a make-shift head covering. Upon trying to attend classes at Good Hope High School, Mr. DeForest was turned away at the campus gates and told that he would not be allowed on campus with his long hair. Mr DeForest was also subjected to repeated disciplinary punishment and finally suspended for his resolve to freely practice his faith. A meeting was subsequently arranged between the DeForest Family and the school administration. At this meeting, Principal Anita Kilpatrich and the Superintendent for Education of Cullman County Hank Allen, adamantly supported their decision to deny Mr. DeForest from practicing his faith freely while attending public school. Additionally at this meeting, the suspension was extended indefinitely – effectively denying Mr. DeForest the right to public education simply due to his religious affiliation and forcing him to chose between his faith and an education. Mr. DeForest contacted SALDEF with his concerns surrounding his ability to freely practice his faith, as guaranteed by the Freedom of Religious Expression principle within the United States Constitution. Mr. DeForest and his family were put in contact with local Alabama Sikh American community activist Rajinder Singh Mehta who provided Tommy with a patka and kara (steel bracelet), both mandated Sikh articles of faith. “For a public school in our Nation to essentially tell a child to check his faith at the door and to force the student to choose between receiving an education and practicing their faith is a tragic violation of the principles that our country was founded on,” stated SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “This type of action is completely inexcusable and counter to the rich diversity found in the South and across the country.” SALDEF is pleased that Tommy DeForest has been allowed back in school while maintaining the articles of the Sikh faith. We thank the school and district administration for working with SALDEF to resolve this situation satisfactorily. SALDEF is hopeful that faculty and administration of schools across the United States will take steps to understand and inform themselves of the diversity of religious practices among their student populations, so instances like this will not happen in the future.