Dayton Christian Schools v. Ohio Civ. Rights Com'n

Decision Date06 January 1984
Docket NumberNo. C-3-80-410.,C-3-80-410.
PartiesDAYTON CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OHIO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

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William B. Ball, Harrisburg, Pa., Bruce E. Pence, Dayton, Ohio, for plaintiffs.

Keith S. Mesirow, Asst. Atty. Gen., Columbus, Ohio, for defendants.

DECISION AND ENTRY DENYING PLAINTIFFS' REQUEST FOR A PERMANENT INJUNCTION; JUDGMENT TO BE ENTERED FOR DEFENDANTS; TERMINATION ENTRY

RICE, District Judge.

The merits of the captioned cause are presently before the Court for a determination of whether a permanent injunction should be issued against the Ohio Civil Rights Commission ("OCRC" or "Commission") to enjoin it from investigating and conducting a hearing on a charge of sex discrimination and retaliatory employer practices against the Dayton Christian Schools (DCS) leveled by a former teacher, Mrs. Linda Hoskinson.

Counsel for the parties agreed to consolidate the hearing on Plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction with the hearing on the merits of the captioned cause, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 65(a)(2).

Plaintiffs consist of DCS as an entity; Patterson Park Church; Christian Tabernacle; Claude E. Schindler, superintendent of DCS; Stephen T. House, M.D. (School Board Member at DCS), and his wife, Camilla House, parents; and Paul Pyle, a teacher at DCS. Defendants are the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, its Commissioners, two Directors of the OCRC, and the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General of Ohio. All Plaintiffs allege that their first amendment rights to freedom of religion will be violated if the OCRC is permitted to exercise jurisdiction over the school. The complexity of the problem presented to the Court stems from the pervasively religious orientation of DCS and the need to determine if the state's attempt to regulate an aspect of the operation of that school impermissibly runs afoul of the proscriptions set forth in either the free exercise or establishment clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The issue before this Court is whether the OCRC may exercise jurisdiction over DCS to investigate and to conduct a hearing on a charge that the school discriminated on the basis of sex and/or engaged in prohibited retaliatory employer practices when it terminated a female teacher's employment contract. Having conducted a hearing on this matter and having carefully reviewed the evidence and the arguments presented by the parties, the Court, as set forth in the opinion below, finds that a permanent injunction should not issue and therefore denies Plaintiffs' request for same.

I. Findings of Fact
A. Purpose and Mission of Dayton Christian School

Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., is a private nonprofit corporation that provides education both to elementary and high school students (Exhibit 1, Page 71 1B07). The exhibits and testimony introduced at the hearing on this matter all support the finding that, from its inception, DCS has had a dominant religious purpose which permeates both the administrative and substantive aspects of the school. When first incorporated, the school outlined its purpose and objectives as follows:

(1) Principal purpose ... is to provide a program of education in a positive Christian atmosphere offering regular courses of study in compliance with the laws and regulations of the State of Ohio.
(2) Other purposes and objectives are:
(A) to provide for the students and faculty (an) ... environment commensurate with an institution having ultimate objectives which are Christ-centered.
(B) to teach all subjects in a manner to create in each student an awareness of God's Supreme authority over all creation.
(C) to present the Bible, God's Word, as the only reliable and true revelation of God's nature and His redeeming purpose and will for mankind.
(D) to teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth to die for our sins.
(E) to train and prepare youth to make worthy contributions to the Cause of Christ in the home, church and community.
(F) to help each student aspire to positions of responsibility in full or part-time Christian service, wherever that call for service may be.

(Exhibit 1, Page 71 1B06).

The preamble to the Constitution of Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. further delineates the school's religious purposes:

The corporation will provide an educational curriculum of the highest possible standards in order to prepare students for purposeful Godliness ... each student will be taught Christian Doctrine based on the Bible as the textbook authority for such instruction and learning.1

(Exhibit 1, Page 71 1C01).

As an administrative means of insuring continued efforts toward the pronounced goals, both the original and current constitution of the Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. delineate a Statement of Faith of religious precepts to which each member of the Board of Directors and educational staff is required to subscribe yearly. (Exhibit 23: Statement of Faith executed by Linda Hoskinson on April 17, 1978).2

Woven throughout most of the Plaintiff's exhibits introduced at the hearing is the advocation of the religious philosophies and purposes of Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., as evidenced by the following compilation of exhibits.

(1) Dayton Christian Schools is an inter-denominational ministry offering a Christ-centered education ... our goal is to provide a quality educational program that is based upon the Word of God (Exhibit 3, Page 1; cover letter to employment candidates);
(2) The entire process of education is seen as a means used by the Holy Spirit to bring the student into fellowship with God ... to assist him in developing a Christian mind ... to train him in Christ-likeness (Exhibit 21, Page 5: Teacher's Manual);
(3) The authority for such an education comes from God's command ... the Christian School is an extension of the local evangelical fundamental church's Christian education program (Id.);
(4) In a Christian School, all studies and activities should be God-centered ... creating and developing a Christian mind is a foremost goal of the Christian School (Id. at Page 7);
(5) the purpose is to nourish dedicated disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ (Id. at Page 57);
(6) We feel strongly that according to God's Word, all Christian children belong in an educational system where Jesus Christ is preeminent (Collossians 1:18) (Exhibit 8: cover letter to parents).

The testimony of Claude Schindler, Superintendent of Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., identified the religious background from which the school emerged (T. 23) and substantiated that its purpose and mission are based upon religious precepts found in the Bible and carried out in such a manner so as to achieve a religious goal.

In the Bible, Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, Verses 5 through 7, parents are commanded to diligently train their children to love thy God with all their heart, soul and mind every moment of the day. We feel that the instruction we must give our children is there can't be any differentiation between secular and sacred, that God Himself is the center of all aspects of learning and everything that's God's (T. 32).
And thus, our mission at Dayton Christian Schools is, in essence, to be a servant to the home and to help Mom and Dad fulfill their Godly responsibilities. And that being our mission it then centers—then forms into the philosophy of education. And that philosophy is that our mission, our goal, is to help these young people become like Jesus Christ, to think like Him, to act like Him by demonstrating their characters and qualities in their lives. We believe that is crucial, that a Christian becomes like Him. And thus, He becomes the focus in everything we do in our school (T. 33).

As no contrary evidence was presented by the Defendant as to the religious purpose and mission of the school, the Court concludes that the religious purpose and mission of Dayton Christian Schools, Inc., is for propagation of the Christian beliefs and faith and that this religious orientation is an integral part of the school's philosophy and operation. The aforesaid religious purposes are shown by the evidence to permeate the school's goals, curriculum and administration.

B. Biblical Chain of Command

The basic religious philosophy of DCS is founded upon beliefs that are reflected in the members' Statement of Faith. (See, note 2, supra). Almost every aspect of the school's philosophy and approach to education emanate from principles found within the Bible. Of specific relevance to the present proceeding is the belief founded on Matthew 18:15-7 and Galations 6:1 that all those employed or enrolled at DCS always give a good report and adhere to a Biblical Chain of Command.

The Chain of Command refers to a scriptural belief (T. 72) in an authority structure. As explained by Claude Schindler in testimony given at trial:

The principle of giving a good report means that I will not give a bad report about someone else to another party, nor will I listen to a bad report from someone else about that party unless I am being asked, according to Matthew 18, to go as a witness.
In other words, I will not receive a bad report about a teacher from a parent unless that parent has first made contact with the teacher and as a result of that contact is not satisfied, then I will go along with that parent to the teacher to resolve it. If that doesn't resolve it, then the three of us, in turn, will go to our Board of Directors to resolve the conflict. That is what we will call the Chain of Command as specified in Matthew, Chapter 18, Verses 15 through 17 (T. 75). The way the Scriptures teach, the way we are to love God is by our obedience. And we know the Scriptures teach that in obedience, there's sic certain authority structures that He has established and we feel that it is important
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  • Dayton Christian Schools, Inc. v. Ohio Civil Rights Com'n
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    ...found that DCS has "a dominant religious purpose which permeates both the administrative and substantive aspects of the school." 578 F.Supp. at 1008-09. Further, the court found [e]very aspect of the school's operation is geared toward exposing and educating the students on how to lead a Ch......
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