Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Sunday, May 04, 2008

School district drops classroom policy on religious art

The Tomah School District has agreed to drop a classroom policy that prohibits religious content in student artwork.

A Thursday hearing before a U.S. District federal judge in Madison was cancelled after the district amended Tomah High School art teacher Julie Millin’s grading policy that read “art work that has any violence, blood, sexual connotations, religious belief will not be accepted.” The reference to religious belief will be dropped.

The suit was brought by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of a high school art student who received a zero for including a cross and a Biblical reference in a landscape drawing assignment. The student also tore the policy in front of Millin and other students, which drew two 20-minute detentions.

The student sought full academic credit for the drawing and the removal of the detentions from his academic record.

“I’m confident we’ll get all the remaining issues worked out,” said Lori Lubinsky, an attorney representing the school district. “The principal relief they were seeking was the policy, and that policy has been changed.

All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.