Sunset Palms Teacher Drops Child From Live “Distance Learning” For Day
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — A Palm Beach County School District student enrolled at Sunset Palms Elementary school was banned from a Google meet for nearly a day after her father attempted to engage another student in a discussion about Jesus Christ.
The father, who contacted BocaNewsNow.com asking why his child would have been banned from live distance learning, said that he saw a young boy on his child’s classroom Google Meet reading the Bible during “reading time” and wanted to engage in a conversation about the “Good News of the Gospel.”
Wrote the man, who we are not identifying so that his child is not singled out: “The teacher let the kids go on break, she left the (Google) meet open. I then unmuted my daughter’s microphone and asked for the boy. My intention was to connect my daughter and this boy so they could speak of their similar interest in their faith. The entire time, the teacher was able to hear. I immediately told him that I was very proud of him that he was reading the Bible and talking about it. (I saw) a big smile on his face and then suddenly the (Google) meet was disconnected. I then tried to reconnect but could not.”
I immediately told him that I was very proud of him that he was reading the Bible and talking about it. (I saw) a big smile on his face and then suddenly the (Google) meet was disconnected. I then tried to reconnect but could not.”
sunset palms elementary school father who attempted to engage an unrelated child in bible discussion during live google meet.
The parent, upset that his daughter was unable to login, reached out to the teacher who apparently did not immediately respond. The teacher later emailed this:
“Good afternoon, I had to remove you from the Google Meet today because you went on and started to communicate with another student. This is not allowed. Once you remove someone they are not allowed back in, this is a Google rule. Tomorrow it will reset itself. If this happens in the future please just continue to follow the agenda. Please contact me through my email so I can help you better. Thank you.”
We are not identifying the Sunset Palms Elementary School teacher. There is no suggestion of teacher wrongdoing. This is the first episode that BocaNewsNow.com has heard of a parent attempting to speak with children remotely — let alone about religion — during a live Palm Beach County School District Google Meet.
Parents are prohibited from remotely communicating with children during live distance learning. Forcing other children to listen to a discussion about the Bible during public school distance learning could violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution.
Wrote the father:
“It makes no sense to me. It was not a private chat. But as soon as the word Bible was mentioned, (the teacher) decided to cut it off. She prohibited my daughter from learning for the rest of that day.”
Is the issue that the parent engaged the student? Or that he spoke about Jesus Christ? Be careful of your subjective point of view. The law clearly states student’s rights to religious expression and schools risk losing federal funds if they violate those student’s rights. The parent crossed a line in engaging another student. Period. Forget the topic. The Good News of the Gospel still stands. It Always will.
—
Ed Note: Erin, you can engage kids, and you can’t force students to listen to a parent talk about religion.