PUSD Cleared in God Banner Ban Case

The Poway Unified School District did not violate a Westview High School teacher's First Amendment rights by ordering him to take down classroom banners that referred to God, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling—a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—reversed a decision last year by a federal judge in San Diego.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez had ruled that the school district had infringed upon the rights of Westview High calculus teacher Bradley Johnson, and ordered that he be allowed to put the banners back up.

For years, the math teacher had displayed large banners in his classroom reading, "In God We Trust," "One Nation Under God," and "All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator."

The appeals court ruled, however, that the school district has the right to limit public employees' speech in the workplace.

In a statement, PUSD Superintendent John Collins said, “The forty-page written decision, which included photographs of the actual banners, is very consistent with the legal and educational rationale the District has used since the very beginning of this case. We are pleased with the outcome after more than four years in the courts.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

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