Legal Forum
Learning about Islam in a Seventh-Grade World Cultures Course In a batch of court cases recently distributed through the national reporting system is a case in which a parent objected to the inclusion of information about Islam in a seventh-grade social studies course. The case is Hilsenrath ex rel. C.H. v. Sch. Dist. of Chathams, 500 F.Supp.3d 272, 390 Educ. L. Rep. [189] (D.N.J. 2020). This case is instructive for students of school law in two regards. First, it lays out the judge’s decision in a concise way, which displays the role of civil procedure in understanding the issues of a case and how the fortune of a court case rises and falls at each procedural step. Second, this case also examines, follows, and reinforces a long-standing rule about the teaching of religion in public schools. C.H. was a seventh grade student in a school district in New Jersey. The school’s curriculum included a social studies course called World Cultures and Geography. The purpose of the course was to “develop a broad understanding of the world and its people” so that “students will become active and informed global citizens.” The course included units of study regarding each of the world’s major geographic regions. As part of that study, students also learned about the religions commonly practiced in each region. One of the units studied the Middle East and North Africa, which included information about Islam, the dominant religion in that part of the world. This unit contained nine lessons, mostly focused on geography and current events, but Islam was discussed in two of the lessons.
Dr. David Dagley
The first lesson was about the benefits and dangers of making generalizations, using the lens of Islam to drive the lesson. The teacher opened the lesson using a PowerPoint, which was also posted on Google Classroom, so it could be accessed at home. The last slide of the PowerPoint asked students to write down words they associated with Islam and asked students to watch a five-minute introductory video about Islam. The students
various legal topics.
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CLAS School Leader
Dr. Dave Dagley serves as professor emeritus of educational leadership with the University of Alabama. Dagley holds the PhD degree from the University of Utah and the JD degree from Cumberland Law School. He has served as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and school board attorney. Dagley is a frequent presenter at CLAS events on
He has also been a long-time contributor to this publication.
