O.C. Teacher Files $5-Million Evolution Suit

In a case that is likely to pit creationists against scientists, a high school biology teacher on Monday filed a $5 million federal suit against the Capistrano Unified School District, claiming that school officials violated his constitutional rights by forcing him to teach evolution.

The lawsuit filed Monday stems from a district reprimand that ordered John Peloza, a teacher at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, to stop instructing his students on the theory of an “intelligent creator” and to follow the scientific explanation of evolution, as mandated by district curriculum guidelines.

James Fleming, superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District, called the lawsuit “outrageous.”

“I think it’s a travesty,” Fleming said. “We will have to spend staff time and Orange County taxpayers’ money building a case to defend ourselves against such ridiculous charges.” Members of the district’s Board of Trustees said the defense could cost up to $1 million.

Attorney Cyrus Zal argues in a 30-page legal brief filed in federal court here that the district is trying to force Peloza to abandon his current teaching philosophy in favor of “secular humanism,” or a belief that there was no divine intervention in the origin of life. Zal said district officials have discriminated against Peloza, a born-again Christian, because of his religion.

“What they are trying to do is make John tow the line and establish the religion of secular humanism,” Zal said. “He is resisting that.” He added that the district is also violating Peloza’s freedom of speech and academic freedom.

But Fleming said the district is only carrying out policy mandated by the State Board of Education, which says evolution should be taught as the only scientific theory explaining the origin of life.

“The state curriculum framework refers to evolution not as fact but as a valid scientific theory and it is to be taught as such,” Fleming said. “It is a body of science, which provides some explanation for the origin of universe.”

In a press conference outside the Federal Building here, Peloza, who was once a runner-up for the district’s teacher of the year, said he believes that both creationism and evolutionism are “differences in philosophies.”

“My purpose is to teach my students to differentiate between philosophical belief and empirical science,” Peloza said. “Empirical science is what scientists do, and if we cannot observe it either directly or indirectly through our five senses, then we cannot validate it as a scientific theory.”

Zal, who is representing Peloza on behalf of the nonprofit Rutherford Institute of California--an Encino-based organization that describes itself as specializing “in the defense of religious liberty, family autonomy and sanctity of human life”--said Peloza decided to file suit after Capistrano Unified trustees rejected a $5-million claim during the summer.

In the claim, Peloza said administrators had falsely accused him of teaching religion in his science class. While Peloza admits that he has given Bibles away after school, he denies that he has ever taught his religious beliefs in class.

“They bought this upon themselves,” Zal said. “They came after us with this.”

Capistrano Unified school board Trustee Marlene Draper called the suit a “shame.”

“The children in our district are going to be the losers,” Draper said. “It’s a shame that a teacher, in what appears to be a personal crusade, drains the needed funds that should go to the children.”

The claim and the lawsuit are the latest in a series of run-ins between Peloza and the district. Capistrano Unified officials issued Peloza a written reprimand last school year after parents complained that he allegedly gave a student a Bible and told a Jewish student that people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ “are going to hell.”

Peloza has also sought damages against the Capistrano Valley High student newspaper, PawPrints, for printing an editorial by a high school senior who criticized him. The claim named Jim Corbett, the newspaper’s adviser.

Peloza, 37, is a graduate of Humboldt State University, where he majored in physical education. He has been teaching biology at the high school for seven years. A week before school opened last month at Capistrano Valley High School, Peloza presented arguments for his case in a question-and-answer session, sponsored by parents who support him.

But a number of people who attended the session questioned Peloza’s ongoing battle with the district, particularly since the debate has split the Capistrano Valley campus.

Observers of the Peloza case say the lawsuit is reminiscent of the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial. Tennessee high school teacher John T. Scopes was convicted of violating a state law that made it illegal to teach the theory of evolution.

“Scopes was forbidden to teach evolution and he threw down the gauntlet and taught it,” said Benjamin Hubbard, a religion professor at Cal Sate Fullerton. “Now we have somebody who is forbidden to teach what Scopes was supposed to teach and he is throwing his own gauntlet.”

Zal, the general counsel for the state chapter of the Rutherford Institute, has been involved in several heated legal debates on fundamentalist issues.

The former counsel for the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, Zal served time in San Diego County Jail last year in his defense of his clients. El Cajon Municipal Judge Larrie R. Brainard cited Zal for contempt while he was representing abortion protesters arrested during 1989 Operation demonstrations. Zal repeatedly ignored orders not to discuss abortion at a trial.

Zal was later sentenced to 290 days in jail on a contempt of court charge. He served half of the sentence and is now appealing the rest of the order.

The state chapter of Rutherford Institute dabbles in other cases that feature debates between religious and secular beliefs and their place on school grounds. Most recently, Rutherford sued Grossmont Union School District in San Diego County for allegedly prohibiting a student from establishing a Christian Bible study and prayer group on a public school campus.

Evolution Lawsuit

Capistrano Valley High School biology teacher John Peloza has filed a $5-million lawsuit against the Capistrano Unified School District over the district’s requirement that he teach the theory of evolution in his classes. Among the points being argued by the district and Peloza:

PELOZA SAYS

ACADEMIC FREEDOM: The school district is taking away his academic freedom by forcing him to teach the theory of evolution. Peloza says he does not teach religion in the classroom but merely offers his students another theory to ponder, the belief that man was created by an “intelligent designer.”

DISTRICT SAYS

CURRICULUM VIOLATION: Peloza is violating curriculum guidelines, which follow the state’s policy that evolution should be taught as the only scientific theory of the origin of life.

PELOZA SAYS

ALTERNATE OPINIONS: His teachings encourage students to form their own opinion on how life was formed.

DISTRICT SAYS

MONOCULTURAL: Peloza’s teaching of creationism includes only the Christian theory of how the world was formed and does not include other cultures.

PELOZA SAYS

SECULAR HUMANISM: Supporters say the district is infringing on his religious background by forcing him to teach evolution, which they call a facet of “secular humanism,” the belief that religion should be separated from any state institution, including public education.

DISTRICT SAYS

SCIENTIFIC THEORY: Evolution is not a religious belief but a scientific theory. District officials argue that creationism is a religious belief, which should be taught in comparative religion or social science classes, not in science courses.

PELOZA SAYS

WRONGLY PUNISHED: He is entitled to sue the district because administrators had wrongly reprimanded him and accused him of teaching religion in his science classroom.

DISTRICT SAYS

WASTE OF MONEY: Costs of preparing defense may reach $1 million. The money will have to be diverted from employee salaries and educational programs, district officials say.