People for the American Way Foundation
1460 Broadway,
New York, NY 10036
Telephone 212.944.5820
Fax 212.768.3713
E-mail pfawny@pfaw.org
Web site http://www.pfaw.org

February 15, 2000

John Walker
Assistant Professor of Business and Management
Roberts Wesleyan College
2301 Westside Drive
Rochester, NY 14624

Re: Rochester Leadership Charter School Academy

Dear Professor Walker:

I am writing to you on behalf of People For the American Way Foundation and
our many thousands of New York members, particularly our members in
Rochester, regarding the Rochester Leadership Charter School Academy. It is
our understanding that you are the local organizer of this new charter
school whose charter application has recently been approved by the Board of
Trustees of the State University of New York, and that the school will be
operated by National Heritage Academies. I am writing because of public
statements you reportedly have made indicating that the school intends to
teach creationism as science. This would be unconstitutional. We urge the
school not to engage in such inappropriate instruction, and we would
appreciate an assurance from you that the school will not do so.

As you of course know, a charter school is a public school. See N.Y.
Education Law, Section 2853 (1) (c). It is therefore governed by the same
constitutional provisions that apply to all other public schools. Among
other things, this means that a charter school must maintain the separation
of church and state that has been the guardian of religious liberty in our
country for more than two centuries. This is reinforced by the New York
Charter School Law, which specifically provides that "a charter school shall
be nonsectarian in its programs ... and all other operations... A charter
shall not be issued to any school that would be wholly or in part under the
control or direction of any religious denomination, or in which any
denominational tenet or doctrine would be taught." Id., Section 2854 (2)
(a).

In Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987), the Supreme Court held that it
is unconstitutional to require the teaching of creationism or "creation
science" in public schools even if used to "balance" the teaching of
evolution. As the Court explained, creationism is religious doctrine, and
the teaching of religious advocacy or doctrine in public schools violates
the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States
Constitution. The lower courts have similarly recognized that "teaching
creation science would constitute religious advocacy in violation of the
First Amendment." Webster v. New Lenox School District No. 122, 917 F.2d
1004, 1006 (7th Cir. 1990). Thus there can be no question that the Rochester
Leadership Academy cannot lawfully teach creationism as science or as a
"theory" that is an alternative to evolution.

Despite this clear legal precedent, it was reported in the press that you
have stated that the Rochester Leadership Academy "plans to teach both
evolution and creationism." See "Taxpayers question charter school ideas,"
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (Dec. 15, 1999). Efforts by concerned
citizens to have you and the national Heritage Academies disavow these
unconstitutional plans have not produced any satisfactory resolution of the
matter.

We therefore call on you now, to make clear, in writing, that the Rochester
Leadership Charter School Academy will not teach creationism as science,
that it will not teach creationism in science classes, and that it will not,
in teaching science, teach creationism as any sort of alternative to
evolution or as any form of explanation for the origin and development of
life. By copy of this letter to the Board of Trustees of the State
University of New York, we are urging the SUNY Board to monitor the school’s
curriculum and instruction closely and to ensure that our school abides by
the Constitution. We look forward to hearing from you and trust that no
further action will be necessary to ensure that the Rochester Leadership
Academy abides by the Constitution and the New York Charter School Law.

Sincerely,

Barbara Handman
New York Director

cc: Board of Trustees of the State University of New York
cc: New York State Board of Regents