California IN BRIEF : SAN JOSE : Judge Upholds Ban on Spelling Game

A judge reluctantly upheld a school district’s decision to shelve a spelling game after two parents said it taught youngsters “wizardry” and made the occult look like fun, contrary to their Christian beliefs. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Peter Stone dismissed a suit by a teachers union that fought the Milpitas Unified School District’s dropping of the game “Wizards.” The district said the game, stopped in 1990, might harm children’s self-esteem, blur the line between good and evil, and demean women. But the Assn. of Milpitas Educators argued that those reasons were a pretext for an improper religious motivation. Stone, however, “most reluctantly” dismissed the teachers’ suit, saying they had failed to offer evidence of religious motives. The district’s actions were “reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns,” he wrote.