Islam Lawsuit May Be Decided By Supreme Court, Chatham Board Says

CHATHAM, NJ — Members of the Chatham Board of Education discussed the reopening of the case in the ongoing legal battle between Chatham parent Libby Hilsenrath and the School District of the Chathams during a recent board meeting.

A federal judge recently reopened a previously dismissed lawsuit brought by a mother against the Chathams School District, alleging that the seventh-grade social studies curriculum was a "direct call" to students to convert to Islam.

Chatham Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber discussed the case and its implications for the district during a meeting on Monday night.

Chatham previously received a summary judgment in its favor from New Jersey District Court Judge Kevin McNulty in a 30-page decision handed down on Nov. 12, 2020, but Hilsenrath appealed, and the case has been remanded to McNulty due to the Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy vs. Bremmerton.

In the Supreme Court case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, petitioner Joseph Kennedy was fired as a high school football coach in the Bremerton School District after kneeling at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer.

Kennedy filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the District's actions violated the First Amendment's Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, siding with Kennedy.

"In light of the Supreme Court decision on Kennedy vs. Bremerton, the appeals court has remanded the case back to the district court because the basis of the summary judgment was something called the Lemon Test, which has been an analysis used to determine if there is an establishment violation of the First Amendment," Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa said.

According to LaSusa, the Supreme Court overturned the Lemon Test and substituted a new test, so the case will be remanded to the court where the summary judgment occurred for further analysis.

In her original complaint, Hilsenrath claimed that during the 2016-17 school year, her son was required to view materials and complete assignments in his World Cultures and Geography class that contained religious teachings about Islam — presented as "facts" rather than beliefs.

Hilsenrath called the teachings "a direct call for students to convert to Islam."

"You can't get a seventh grader to make their bed on a consistent basis, I can't imagine that the teachers, through a 40-minute lesson and worksheet were able to convert him," Weber said.

Members of the board conducted research to determine how much the lawsuit, which is covered by insurance, is costing the school. According to Weber, the lawsuit has cost more than $2 million in legal fees.

Since 2018, Weber estimates that the district has spent between $80,000 and $90,000 on legal fees that were not covered by insurance.

In her discussion of the case, Weber urged Hilsrenrath to drop the lawsuit, claiming that it could drag on indefinitely and possibly reach the Supreme Court.

In Nov. 2020 U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty dismissed Hilsenrath's complaint "with prejudice," giving her no option to refile it. "I am acutely aware that this is public, not parochial, education," McNulty said in his 30-page opinion. "Religion, however, is a fact about the world, and no study of geography and cultures is complete without it."

According to Weber, Hilsrenrath's son testified during the deposition that his first amendment rights had not been violated and that he did not feel indoctrinated or negatively impacted by the school lesson.

"Based on the Kennedy vs. Bremerton case, our opinion is that if coach Joe can pray midfield, our teachers can certainly teach to New Jersey State standards in 7th Grade and continue to teach all the world's religions," Weber said. "We're going to have just now sit tight for a little bit. It's very disheartening."