SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Teacher’s Evolution Suit to Get Hearing

A lawsuit filed by a Capistrano Valley High School biology teacher charging that the school district violated his rights in forcing him to teach evolution will get its first court hearing on Monday.

A federal judge in Los Angeles will determine if the suit filed by John Peloza against the Capistrano Unified School District suit should be dismissed. The controversial case, which has pitted fundamental creationists against school authorities who contend that state law requires instructors to teach evolution, could set a precedent if Peloza is allowed to go forward with his claim.

“It’s either life or death for the lawsuit,” said attorney Cyrus Zal, who represents Peloza. “The (school district) made a motion to dismiss based on the allegation that all the courts in the nation have held that evolution is not a religion but a valid scientific theory. We dispute that.”

The hearing is the first federal forum for the case, which has sparked a running debate on how the origin of mankind should be taught. The case addresses the concerns of some fundamentalist Christian groups who argue that public schools teach their own religion of “secular humanism.”

Peloza and the district have been at odds since last year, when school officials gave the teacher a reprimand for giving away a Bible and telling a Jewish student that people who are not Christians “are going to hell.” Later, the district issued a written reprimand ordering Peloza to stop teaching creationism, the concept that a supreme being is responsible for life on Earth.

Peloza filed a $5-million claim against the district during the summer but school trustees rejected it. He then filed the federal suit in September. The suit also names several teachers who have spoken out against Peloza.

Peloza, a “born-again” Christian, is claiming that school officials violated his constitutional rights by forcing him to teach evolution. Peloza contends that he should also have the right to teach creationism.

Capistrano district officials say that creationism is not included in its science curriculum guidelines. The officials have said they must follow State Board of Education policy on science, which requires that evolution be taught as the only scientific theory on the origin of life. The state board defined the guidelines two years ago after a debate between biologists and groups advocating the teaching of creationism.

Capistrano Unified district Supt. James A. Fleming said that the district has asked that the case go no further than the hearing. But the superintendent said that the district is prepared to pursue the case if needed.

“We’re working very closely with our legal counsel, and we will take our lead from our attorneys at each junction,” Fleming said. “In a case as involved as this, we have to give everything careful consideration.”