Peloza v. Capistrano Unified School District
United Sates Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
37 F.3d 517 (1994)
- Written by Elliot Stern, JD
Facts
John Peloza (plaintiff) was a high school biology teacher in the public-school system in California. Peloza sued the Capistrano Unified School District (the school district) (defendant) alleging that the school district had violated his constitutional rights by requiring him to teach the theory of evolution to his students. Peloza did not believe that evolution was a valid scientific theory. Instead, he claimed that “evolutionism” was a religious or philosophical belief based on the assumption that life and the universe had evolved randomly without a creator. Peloza also alleged that he had been forbidden to discuss religious matters with students while on the school campus, even if the conversation was initiated by a student and took place outside of class time. Peloza asked the court for a declaratory judgment permitting him to respond to student-initiated inquiries about religion during school time. The district court dismissed Peloza’s claims for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Peloza appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
Concurrence/Dissent (Poole, J.)
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