Student Sues Over Frog Dissection

Jenifer Graham, a 15-year-old vegetarian who believes killing animals harms “the God in everything,” filed suit in Los Angeles federal court Thursday against her high school for requiring her to dissect a frog in a biology class.

Jenifer, a sophomore at Victor Valley High School in Victorville, said in her suit that the school district is violating her right to freedom of religious belief by insisting that she dissect frogs in order to complete her biology class.

Jenifer’s convictions, the suit says, “arise from a strong, sincerely held and longstanding belief that dissection is morally wrong.”

“(She) believes as a fundamental tenet of her life that all animals have a right to exist and are due the same respect as that afforded human life,” the suit maintains.

Among the defendants in Jenifer’s suit are her biology teacher, school principal and the Victor Valley Union High School District superintendent. School officials could not be reached for comment.

Jenifer wants a court declaration saying that it is unconstitutional for the district to refuse to allow her to undertake an alternative course of biology study. She also wants an injunction barring the school from punishing her, harassing her or lowering her grades because she refused to dissect frogs.