California charter school rejected curriculum that mentioned God, father says

A California father of five says his family's public charter school rejected homeschooling materials that merely mentioned God or faith, even when the books met state academic standards. John Woolard says the decisions forced his family to pay out of pocket for resources he believes other families could obtain with public funds.

Woolard told Fox News Digital that he and his wife initially had no trouble using a public charter school program that allowed them to educate their children at home. Over time, he said, their curriculum choices came under scrutiny for religious content. "Any book or curriculum purchase that we wanted to make that referenced God or faith in even, like, an adjacent sort of way was being denied," Woolard said. He described what he called a "publisher blacklist" and said the restrictions reached beyond explicitly Christian instructional materials. He also said he ran into problems with books examining the religious beliefs of America's Founding Fathers. "You would think that that would be something that would be non-controversial, but those curriculum choices would be denied," he said.

For Woolard, the dispute is also a financial one. As the father of five, he said the charter program offered a cost-effective way to tailor instruction to each child's needs. When purchases were rejected, he said, the family had to cover the costs themselves. "If our curriculum choices are denied, then we have to pay for those resources. We have to pay for those curriculum choices out of pocket," he said.

Woolard said he pressed school officials to explain the rejections and asked whether the materials met California standards and were academically rigorous. According to him, the answer to both questions was yes. "So, at the end of the day, the only objection that you have to this curriculum, our curriculum choices, is that there's a faith component to it," he said he asked. He said both a teacher and a principal acknowledged that the religious component was the objection. "What that tells me is that equality only extends as far as what the government approves," he said.

Stephanie Taub, senior counsel with First Liberty Institute, criticized the policy as discriminatory toward families seeking a faith-based education. "What we're asking here is California has a policy that singles out parents who want to give their children a faith-based education, and it excludes them from homeschooling benefits that would otherwise be available," she said. Taub said the family is seeking Supreme Court review after an unfavorable lower-court decision, and that she expects to learn in the coming months whether the justices will take the case.

Woolard said he hopes the justices will force California to change its approach. "What I really hope is for the government or for the Supreme Court to come back and tell California you got the decision wrong, and this is the way to correct it," he said, adding that such a ruling could "break open California for a lot of families" seeking similar changes. A spokesperson for the California Department of Education told Fox News Digital the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

5Views

Author

Connor Quincy

Technology Reporter

Connor Quincy covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

All articles by this author