Teutopolis School Board Tables Agreement w/ACLU, Will Hold Public Forum on Issue

Teutopolis school board members Monday night agreed to table a settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union regarding religion classes offered by St. Francis Parish at Teutopolis Grade School.

The grade school building is owned by St. Francis Parish and is leased by the Teutopolis Unit 50 School District as a classroom building.

The agreement is the outgrowth of an investigation begun by the ACLU in October 2014 that indicated certain practices relating to the Parish religion classes caused one parent's child or children to feel excluded and stigmatized. The parent, through counsel, notified the Teutopolis School Board of the situation, which the parent feels violates the First Amendment rights of the child or children. One of the practices cited is the transporting of students to school at 8am, affording the Parish exclusive access to students for the purpose of religious instruction prior to the start of classes, separating those students who participate in Parish religion classes from those who do not, and having nonparticipating students engage in unstructured play or study while their peers are in religion classes on school grounds.

The settlement agreement was presented as an attempt to avoid litigation over the issue.

Here are the terms of the proposed Settlement Agreement:

--school buses will be scheduled to bring students to school approximately 15 minutes before the start of the regular school day and leave school to take students home approximately 15 minutes after the end of the regular school day

--all students, regardless of whether or not they have participated in any before-school activity on school grounds, will assemble in the gymnasium, cafeteria or other common area prior to reporting to their homeroom classes

--there will be an after-school activities period at the school on school days beginning 15 minutes after the end of the instructional school day during which after-school activities may take place in the school building and on school grounds

--the Board will develop content-neutral policies regarding access to the school building and grounds for non-school organizations, including the Parish, wishing to conduct after-school activities. The Board will share drafts of these policies, and any subsequent proposed amendments, with Parent Doe's attorneys and provide them with an opportunity to comment

--the Board may allow outside organizations, including the Parish, to store materials in the school building or grounds, provided that this accommodation is offered on a content-neutral basis to all organizations conducting after-school programs, and provided that these materials will not be accessed during instructional hours

--at the end of the school day, students who are participating in after-school activities will be escorted to the cafeteria or gymnasium by school personnel. Students will then be escorted to their activities by adults affiliated with those activities, such as volunteers, instructors, troop leaders or coaches

--the Board will not provide buses to transport students participating in after-school activities. The Board may, at its option, allow organizations conducting after-school activities, on a content-neutral basis, to pay for Board school buses and drivers to transport such students, or allow organizations and/or parents to arrange their own transportation

--the Board will develop content-neutral policies barring the school from distributing flyers from outside organizations to students, or, alternatively, allowing such distribution, provided that the flyers state clearly that their message is not endorsed by the Board or the school. The Board will share drafts of these policies, and any subsequent proposed amendments thereto, with Parent Doe's attorneys and provide them with an opportunity to comment

--the changes would be implemented no later than the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.

The proposed agreement also causes the parent to refrain from pursuing any legal action against the Board for letting Parish religion clases on school grounds as long as the Board complies with the agreement, but the Board would have to reimbuse the parent for any successful legal challenge needed to cause the Board to comply with the agreement.

Much discussion took place at Monday night's meeting. Some thought the Board should reject the proposed settlement and, in the event the parent sued the District, to countersue.

Some in the audience wondered why the Board hadn't told the public sooner about the issue?

Superintendent Bill Fritcher responded that the issue went away for several months, then resurfaced in the fall of 2015. Fritcher said school officials have been talking with parish priest Father Joe Carlos, while the school district attorney attempted to work with the diocesant legal counsel on the issue. Others wondered why the parish officials hadn't shared the information since it became known during the meeting that school district officials had gone to parish and diocesan officials, including Bishop Paprocki, about the issue.

Others wondered whether an alternative bus route, funded by parents, could be utilized to avoid use of any public funds to transport students.

In deciding to hold the public forum on the issue, Board members said it needed to take place sooner rather than later since a pending settlement is in place. Following a closed session, the Board scheduled the forum for Tuesday, April 19 at 6:30pm in the Teutopolis High School Media Center.

Also Monday, the Teutopolis board approved next year's holiday calendar; approved a revised school calendar; agreed to a copier purchase contract; and heard that nothing is available as far as pending health insurance costs.

The Board also met in closed session to consider salaries for district administrators and other non-union or exempt employees, and also on open positions. See a separate story on action following the closed session.