Mozert v. Hawkins County Board of Education
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
827 F.2d 1058 (1987)
The Hawkins County Board of Education (defendant) adopted the Holt reading series to build students' critical reading skills, and the series included stories touching on concepts like mental telepathy, evolution, thought transfer, and magic; after initially allowing objecting students alternative assignments, the board eliminated all alternatives and required every student to use the Holt series. A group of parents (plaintiffs) sued, arguing the requirement infringed their children's and their own free exercise of religion by exposing the children to contradictory religious views unless the board affirmatively told the children those differing views were wrong, and the district court agreed, granting a preliminary injunction.
Whether schools violate the First Amendment by merely exposing students to ideas that are inconsistent with the students' religious beliefs.