Separation of Hinduism from Our Sch. v. Chi. Pub. Sch.
| Decision Date | 21 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 20 C 4540 |
| Parties | SEPARATION OF HINDUISM FROM OUR SCHOOLS, an unincorporated association; CIVIL LIBERTIES FOR URBAN BELIEVERS, an unincorporated association; AMONTAE WILLIAMS, individually and as a representative for all similarly situated persons; DASIA SKINNER, individually and as a representative for all similarly situated persons; and DARRYL WILLIAMS, individually and as a representative for all similarly situated persons, Plaintiffs, v. CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, City of Chicago School District #299; THE DAVID LYNCH FOUNDATION; and the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
From 2015 to 2019, students and teachers in a handful of Chicago's public schools participated in a program called "Quiet Time." The plaintiffs in this case allege that Quiet Time included elements of both the Hindu religion and a practice known as Transcendental Meditation. In this suit, the plaintiffs assert two claims. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, they contend that the use of the Quiet Time program in Chicago's public schools violates both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the federal constitution. And they bring a claim under state law, alleging that the use of the program in schools violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The defendants argue the complaint must be dismissed because: (1) the claims are non-justiciable, as the plaintiffs do not have standing to sue; (2) the claims are time-barred; and (3) the plaintiffs have failed to state claims upon which relief may be granted.
The following facts are drawn from the plaintiffs' amended complaint. Because the Court is considering a motion to dismiss, it accepts as true the complaint's well-pleaded factual allegations. Lett v. City of Chicago, 946 F.3d 398, 399 (7th Cir. 2020). That said, the Court "offer[s] no opinion on the ultimate merits," recognizing that "further development of the record may cast the facts in a light different from the complaint." Savory v. Cannon, 947 F.3d 409, 412 (7th Cir. 2020).
There are five plaintiffs. The first, Amontae Williams, is a former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) student who graduated from a school that hosted the Quiet Time program. His father, Darryl Williams, is also a plaintiff. Dasia Skinner is the third; she is a substitute teacher who taught at two Chicago public schools that hosted Quiet Time. The fourth and fifth plaintiffs are Separation of Hinduism from our Schools (SHOS) and Civil Liberties for Urban Believers (CLUB), two unincorporated associations with alleged interests in this case.
There are three defendants. First is the David Lynch Foundation (DLF). DLF's mission is the promotion and "widespread implementation of . . . TranscendentalMeditation." Amd. Compl. ¶ 16. To that end, DLF promotes Transcendental Meditation in schools through the Quiet Time program. According to its website, DLF believes that Quiet Time "improv[es] academic performance and reduc[es] stress and violence" and cites evidence it believes supports its conclusion. Id. at Ex. H. "[H]undreds of public, private, and charter schools worldwide" have adopted Quiet Time as a result of DLF's efforts. Id. At one point, some of those schools were Chicago public schools.
According to the plaintiffs, the story of how Quiet Time came to be in Chicago's public schools began when DLF approached the second defendant, the University of Chicago. The University is home to a consortium of research centers, called the Urban Labs, that "work[ ] 'to address challenges across five key dimensions of urban life'" including in education, health, and poverty. Id. ¶ 17. The University's Urban Labs "partner[ ] with civic and community leaders to identify, test, and help scale the programs and policies with the greatest potential to improve human lives." Id. At some point—the plaintiffs do not say when or why—DLF asked the University to be its research partner in a project that would involve implementing Quiet Time in certain Chicago public schools. The University agreed.
Together the organizations sought approval from the last defendant, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago, which agreed to their proposal.1 According to the plaintiffs, the three defendants "worked collaboratively" to create parameters for Quiet Time's implementation in handful of the Board's schools and to implement the program within those schools. See id. ¶¶ 23, 24.
Quiet Time took place during the school day and used space on school property. The program consisted of two 15-mintues meditation sessions—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—on every school day. Sessions were typically led by Transcendental Meditation instructors who were certified by the Maharishi Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who developed the Transcendental Meditation technique. When a Transcendental Meditation instructor was unavailable, CPS teachers were expected to lead meditation sessions.
Though defendants represented Quiet Time as non-religious in nature, as discussed below, the plaintiffs allege that the program had what they call "hidden religious" elements. See id. ¶ 61, 63.
Quiet Time required participation in a "Puja" initiation ceremony. Students were expected to "actively participate" in the ceremony. Id. ¶ 32. The Puja ceremonies were led by the Transcendental Meditation instructors. During the ceremony, items were placed around a picture of Guru Dev, a former teacher of the Maharishi. After the items were "presented" to the picture of Guru Dev, the Transcendental Meditation instructor chanted in Sanskrit and performed rehearsed movements. Id. ¶ 30. Translated into English, the words chanted in Sanskrit included "statements recognizing the power possessed by various Hindu deities and invitations to those same Hindu deities to channel their powers through those in attendance." Id. ¶ 37.
When students were taught to meditate, they were instructed to "silently repeat"an assigned mantra to assist them in their meditation. Id. ¶¶ 41, 42, 49. Students were told to use only the mantra that had been assigned to them by their Transcendental Meditation instructor. The mantras were in Sanskrit. Though students were taught how to pronounce their mantra, they were not told the meaning of the words. Instead, the Transcendental Meditation instructors told students that the mantras were "meaningless sounds." Id. ¶ 45. The plaintiffs assert that, to the contrary, the mantras "honor or reference specific Hindu deities." Id. ¶ 47.
Students in Quiet Time were asked to keep to an oath of secrecy. The oath required them to keep their experience in the program secret from others, including their parents, guardians, and other students. Instructors explained that failing to keep this "oath of secrecy" would make the practice of Transcendental Meditation "wholly ineffective." Id. ¶ 55.
To indicate the beginning of a meditation session, the Transcendental Meditation instructor rang a small handheld bell known as a "Ghanta." The plaintiffs allege that these "ritual bell[s]" are commonly used in Hindu religious practices and that, in Hinduism, bells are "used to indicate a desire to interact with a deity and to prepare a listener's mind [for] said interaction." Id. ¶ 61.
Amontae Williams alleges that he was "coerced . . . to engage in religious practices and rituals that are based in Hinduism, in violation of his rights." Id. ¶ 76. Atthe time the relevant events occurred, Amontae was a congregant of a Christian church and was raised within the Christian faith. He attended Bogan Computer Technical High School in Chicago until he graduated in spring of 2019. Bogan was one of the schools that hosted Quiet Time.
During his senior year, Amontae felt coerced to participate in Quiet Time by school administrators, teachers, and the Transcendental Meditation instructors; he discussed this pressure to participate with his classmates who felt similarly. Amontae also felt discomfort when participating in Quiet Time and wished to stop participating in it; he also discussed this with his classmates, some of whom felt the same. When he tried to ask Transcendental Meditation instructors to explain the meaning or significance of aspects of Quiet Time (e.g., the Puja ceremony or the mantra), he was "repeatedly rebuffed." Id. ¶ 75. While participating in Quiet Time, Amontae had a traumatic experience that he describes as "like [an] exposure to negative spiritual influences, contrary to his religious upbringing." Id. ¶ 74.
After he learned of the "hidden religious nature" of Quiet Time, Amontae shared what he learned with his classmates. Id. ¶ 71. When CPS officials learned what Amontae was sharing, he was sent to the principal's office on two occasions. The first time he was sent to the principal's office, Amontae met with the school's Operations and Climate and Culture Manager, Sharon Dixon. She told him to stop telling other students that Quiet Time involved religious practices or Hindu rituals. The second time he was sent to the office, Amontae met with Dixon again. This time, Dixon threatened to suspend Amontae if he continued to tell students about any alleged connection between Quiet Time and Hinduism.
Amontae's sworn declaration—which is incorporated by reference in the complaint—largely matches the above allegations.
Dasia Skinner claims she was "coerced . . . to facilitate religious practices and rituals that are based in Hinduism, in violation of her rights." Id. ¶ 84. Skinner is an "active participant" in a Christian Church and "strongly identifies with the Christian faith." Id. ¶ 79. She was a substitute teacher who accepted...
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