Sikhs Barred from Oregon and Pennsylvania Schools

April 22, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Yesterday, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, met with Department of Justice officials and noted that observant Sikhs are effectively prohibited by law from working as public school teachers in Oregon and Pennsylvania.

Quote: Oregon Statute § 342.650
“No teacher in any public school shall wear any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher.”


Please tell us if you have ever sought a public school teaching job in Oregon! Send an email to legal@saldef.org or contact us by phone at (202) 393-2700 Ext 131.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/saldef/24950-sikhs-barred-from-oregon-pennsylvania-schools.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24950


Quote: 24 Pennsylvania Statute § 11-1112
"[N]o teacher in any public school shall wear in said school or while engaged in the performance of his duty as such teacher any dress, mark, emblem or insignia indicating the fact that such teacher is a member or adherent of any religious order, sect or denomination.”


Please tell us if you have ever sought a public school teaching job in Pennsylvania! Send an email to legal@saldef.org or contact us by phone at (202) 393-2700 Ext 131.

These laws constitute a modern form of segregation. Apart from being un-American and potentially illegal, they effectively prohibit observant Sikh Americans from pursuing teaching careers in Oregon and Pennsylvania and reinforce bias and ignorance of the sort that underlies hate crimes, discrimination, and school bullying against Sikh Americans.

 
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It is absolutely true that no one is permitted to wear religious symbols or attire of any kind in public schools in Pennsylvania. This is the first time I realized that there are only 2 states like this, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- a surprise. And yes a Sikh who observes bana therefore cannot be a school teacher. Imagine....
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24950
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24950

I hope that this ridiculous matter is addressed effectively.

, it seems that Oregon and Pennsylvania have seceeded from the United States of America and joined la belle France!

Couldn't this be overturned on Constitutional grounds? It clearly infringes upon the free expression of religion.

This is a job for Super Sikh! Call out SALDEF! Call out The Sikh Coalition! Call out United Sikhs! This should be defeated without too much ado, I would think.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24950
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=24950

But I may be wrong. I never believed that Our Home And Native Land (Canada) would seriously try to deport Laibar Singh - and we all know how that went. Don't we?

Mai ji

If I am not mistaken, SALDEF has already begun a campaign on this issue. Just some insight into the two states. Oregon in many ways has an amazingly liberal social culture but for the most part this open-mindedness is found in the cities and areas where people live alternative life-styles (aka Sierra Club, libertarians, and like that). But politics at the state level is dominated by evangelical Christians who are very conservative. In Oregon there is also a sizable Christian identity movement. In Pennsylvania, where I live, the cities tend to take a more open-minded view of almost anything political. However the great center of the state is dominated by conservative politics, and this cuts across all religious groups. The key is "conservative." Now unlike Canada or Britain, public schools and educational policy are governed at the state level and not at the Federal level. The US Constitution leaves to the states any power that is not specified in the federal constitution. Education is not so specified; and therefore there is wide variation from state to state on many many matters. Even when there is a federal mandate pertaining to education coming from Washington (from either the US Congress or the Executive branch) the states are given the right to apply the law or implement an initiative according to their own constitutional frameworks. So it is not a matter of Oregon and Pennsylvania seceding from the Union. They are acting according to "states' rights." And this idea of "states' rights" has been the trigger for many tests of basic freedoms historically, most famously the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education, in which racial segregation was overturned. Believe it or not throughout most of our history, it was OK to have segregated schools on the basis of states' rights.

For those who don't know, the "Christian Identity Movement" is a white supremecist "religion" that has little or nothing to do with traditional Christianity. While I hesitate to criticise the beliefs of others, this is a truly abhorrent group that I keep my distance from.

And, BTW, as I am a Canadian, albeit long-time resident (since 1986) of the United States, I may be forgiven if my knowledge of American Constitutional lawis a bit misinformed, I hope.

PA was the state where the Jehovah Witnesses prevailed in the Supreme Court against mandating that all public school children must pledge the alliance to the flag. It was in Minersville where this case began. There is also a Supreme Court ruling that no government within the boundaries of The United States shall require a license, permit, or prior notification of religious organizations to preach door to door, and yet Pottsville, Pa continually violates this Supreme Court Ruling by harassing the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Pentecostal groups by stopping these missionary groups and demanding that they register at City Hall. I know of several instances where Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Pentecostals have been stopped by the police and code enforcement officers and told they could not go door to door without first notifying the police where they would be canvasing. I have heard the term towel head used several times in these small xenophobic towns which are predomenantly Roman Catholic or Main Stream Protestant.

You have it right on both counts. And why apologize for not knowing how the constitution of the US works? I don't know how the Canadian constitution works either. Or for the matter the Indian constitution. I try but don't have the mind to understand it. So usually someone here can explain it to me.

I didn't read the link which I had previously posted and I assumed that it gave all the facts. Seeing as how it was an atheist site, it isn't surprising that they left out the later victory by the religious organization. Here is a more accurate presentation of the Supreme Court Decisions: Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sa'ad ji

This is really interesting material. It fills in a gap in my understanding of religious liberties and Jehovah's Witnesses in particular. Thanks.