State ex rel. Douglas v. Faith Baptist Church of Louisville

• Decision Date: 30 January 1981
• Docket Number: No. 43029,43029
• Citation: 207 Neb. 802,301 N.W.2d 571
• Parties: STATE of Nebraska ex rel. Paul L. DOUGLAS et al., Appellees, v. FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH OF LOUISVILLE, Nebraska, a corporation, et al., Appellants.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

Page 571

301 N.W.2d 571

207 Neb. 802

STATE of Nebraska ex rel. Paul L. DOUGLAS et al., Appellees, v. FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH OF LOUISVILLE, Nebraska, a corporation, et al., Appellants.

No. 43029.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

Jan. 30, 1981.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Equity: Injunctive Relief. A court of equity may properly afford injunctive relief where there has been a continuing and flagrant course of violations of the law, even though these acts may be subject to criminal sanctions.

2. Schools and School Districts. The mandate provided for in Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-312 (Reissue 1976) that the State Department of Education prescribe a course of study for public schools is met when such department furnishes a list of subjects required to be taught, together with an explanation of the aims sought to be accomplished by the individual program.

3. Schools and School Districts. There is no absolute duty on the part of county superintendents to furnish written or printed questions to school districts to be used for review of the various courses of study. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-312 (Reissue 1976) leaves this decision up to the county superintendent as in his judgment may be necessary or expedient.

4. Schools and School Districts. A state agency which requires, as a minimum for certification of an individual, the maximum requirement permitted by statute does not violate the limiting terms of such statute.

5. Schools and School Districts. The State, having a high responsibility for the education of its citizens, has the power to impose reasonable regulations for the control and duration of basic education.

6. Schools and School Districts. A way of life, however virtuous and admirable, may not be interposed as a barrier to reasonable state regulation of education if it is based on purely secular considerations.

7. Schools and School Districts. A state always has a legitimate concern for maintaining minimum standards in all schools it allows to operate.

8. Schools and School Districts. The State has a compelling interest in the quality and ability of those who are employed to teach its young people, and a requirement that such teacher possess an appropriate baccalaureate degree is neither arbitrary nor unreasonable and is a reliable indicator of the probability of success as a teacher.

9. Schools and School Districts. Although parents have a right to send their children to schools other than public institutions, they do not have the right to be completely unfettered by reasonable government regulations as to the quality of the education furnished.

David C. Gibbs, Jr. and Charles E. Craze of Gibbs & Craze, Parma Heights, Ohio and Meyer Coren of Viren, Epstein, Leahy & Coren, Omaha, for appellants.

Paul L. Douglas, Atty. Gen., and Harold Mosher, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lincoln, for appellees.

Heard before KRIVOSHA, C. J., BOSLAUGH, McCOWN, BRODKEY, WHITE, and HASTINGS, JJ., and COLWELL, District Judge.

HASTINGS, Justice.

This was an action brought by the State of Nebraska on the relation of the Attorney General against Faith Baptist Church of Louisvile, Nebraska, and certain individuals being officers and employees of the principal defendant. It sought to enjoin the operation of an elementary and secondary school by the defendants because there had been no compliance with the school laws of the State of Nebraska. From a judgment granting such relief, the defendants have appealed to this court. Upon consideration de novo on the record, we affirm.

The defendants claim that the trial court erred in granting the injunction because: (1) Criminal sanctions are the remedy prescribed by the applicable statutes rather than equitable relief; (2) The State of Nebraska through the State Department of Education has failed to abide by the same statutes and rules that it asks to be enforced against the defendants; (3) Enforcement of the school laws violates the defendants' ninth amendment rights to bear, raise, and educate their children as they see fit; and (4) Enforcement of the school laws violates the defendants' first amendment rights as to freedom of religion.

As a part of the factual background, it should be helpful to set out certain basic statutory provisions. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-201 (Reissue 1976) requires that every person having charge or control of any child between the ages of 7 and 16 "shall cause such child to attend regularly the public, private, denominational, or parochial day schools each day that such schools are open and in session ...." Among other things, Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-328 (Reissue 1976) requires that the State Board of Education shall have the power and duty to provide "supervision of the state school system"; to "establish ... procedures for classifying, approving, and accrediting schools ... for the continued legal operation of all schools"; and to "cause to be published laws and regulations governing the schools." In addition, the State Board of Education has caused to be promulgated and published Rule 14, which contains regulations and procedures for approving the continued legal operation of all schools. That rule provides: "Only school systems approved for continued legal operation by the State Board of Education are considered to be providing a program of instruction which is in compliance with the compulsory attendance laws." It goes on to set forth what the curriculum shall consist of, and prescribes for the use of necessary materials and equipment, the length of the school day and year, and requirements relating to health and safety. Additionally, it requires the filing of a "Fall Approval Report" and an "Annual Term Summary Report," and, in order for a school to become approved and remain so, it mandates that each professional staff member employed by the school must "hold a valid Nebraska certificate or permit issued by the State Board of Education legalizing him or her to teach the grades or subjects to which elected." Rule 21, also adopted by the State Board of Education, provides rules for the issuance of certificates and permits to teach in Nebraska schools. Generally speaking, in order to qualify for a regular certificate, it is necessary that the applicant have obtained a baccalaureate degree.

On August 29, 1977, the defendants began operating the Faith Christian School in Louisville, Nebraska. The curriculum employed by this school is that supplied by Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E.) and consists of a series of booklets called Packet of Accelerated Christian Education (PACE), which contain instructional information and self-test questions in various subjects and at different instructional levels. Each student works at his or her own speed, and, after completing each PACE and attaining a grade of at least 80 percent on the self test and the PACE test given under the supervision of the supervisor, moves on to the next sequentially numbered PACE. The teachers as such are supervisors who administer the tests and are available for helping a particular student who may be having difficulty. Their function is not to teach, but to monitor or supervise. The instruction is Bible-oriented. For example, PACE 25 in social studies is devoted to the first chapter of Genesis, and its outline topics include The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, The Seven Days of Creation, and the Garden of Eden. PACE 7 in mathematics consists of problems in simple addition and subtraction, interspersed with biblical sayings and citations. One gets the impression that the method of instruction is not unlike a correspondence course, with the addition of helping supervisors.

In spite of requests from the various local and state school officials, the defendants have refused to furnish "third-day reports" containing the names and addresses of all students enrolled in their school, as required by Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-207 (Reissue 1976). This is necessary so as to check parents' compliance with compulsory attendance laws. They have stated that they have not and will not request approval of their A.C.E. program, even though they have been told that it would be approved, and they have neglected and refused to employ accredited teachers and to seek approval from the State of Nebraska to operate their school. It is their position that the operation of the school is simply an extension of the ministry of the church, over which the State of Nebraska has no authority to approve or accredit.

According to the defendants, as expressed by defendant Everett Sileven, pastor of the defendant church, a Christian education is mandated by the Bible. He cites Deuteronomy 6:6,7, which, according to Today's English Version, states: "Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working." Proverbs 22:6 says: "Teach a child how he should live, and he will remember it all his life." And, although the record indicates a citation to Ephesians 5:4, undoubtedly the reference is to Chapter 6: "Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, raise them with Christian discipline and instruction." Their belief is that teaching is a way of life and not simply a 5-hours-a-day, 5-days-a-week proposition. It is the defendants' belief that the public schools of today are overrun with an increase in crime, drug and alcohol addiction, teacher assaults, vandalism, and disrespect for authority and property. Additionally, and basically, according to Mr. Sileven, secular humanism is the basic philosophy of the public educational system, which is in direct opposition to the defendants' belief in biblical Christianity. It is because of these beliefs that the Faith Christian School was organized. Defendants further maintain that, because their philosophy is Christian and that of the State Department of Education is not, the latter is not capable of judging the philosophy of the...