fallout: CAPEEM settles textbook lawsuit in california

jun 8th, 2009

a partial victory, though not total. the state has in effect recognized that it is culpable, whence the out-of-court settlement of $175,000, and the mandated improvement in process. some other points about pervasive and endemic religious discrimination in a mono-culture-minded, semitic-minded society will have to be made more subtly in future to make headway.

nevertheless, the point has been made, and the next lawsuit can be that much more comprehensive, building up on this one.

this settlement, and the one in the case by HAF, put together amount to a very encouraging first step in legal action by hindus in the US. compliments to those who pulled it off, especially those who were not even lawyers. 

this pattern of challenging the state on legal and constitutional points should be continued.

it should also be replicated in india with a solid legal entity. there are many opportunities to challenge the state and other actors on unconstitutionality and legality. some random recent examples:

1. the prime minister, sworn to uphold the constitution, violated its equal-rights clauses (this should be an impeachable offense) by saying that one group of people should have greater rights than others

2. an award-winning NGO was found to have fabricated witness statements, thus tampering with witnesses (a major offense) and thus rendering any related trial a mistrial, not to mention libelous and defamatory statements should result in large punitive damages

3. the speaker of the last parliament, sworn to neutrality, said he could not vote with a particular party. this should be an impeachable offense

4. the same speaker belittled and ignored what appeared to be a major vote-buying scam during a no-confidence motion, where it appeared people were bribed with large amounts: a felony. however, the same speaker pursued a misdemeanor with great enthusiasm, again suggesting bias

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <arvind@capeem.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: CAPEEM settles textbook lawsuit
To: 

PRESS RELEASE
Los Angeles
June 8, 2009

 

California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) and officials of the California Department of Education and the State Board of Education came to an agreement to settle the lawsuit that was filed in the United States District Court of Eastern District of California in 2006. CAPEEM had challenged the process by which religious claims were incorporated into the textbooks used by public school students, as well as some of the religious claims, themselves, which had made their way into those texts.

Believing that its points had been clearly understood by the defendants, CAPEEM opted not to prolong the litigation. The State entered into negotiations with CAPEEM and agreed to pay CAPEEM $175,000 in exchange for a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit.

CAPEEM looks forward to participating in a review process free from biases, and to work with the State to approve textbooks that do not favor or disfavor any religious doctrines.

 

For more information contact:
Arvind Kumar (646) 594-4397           arvind@capeem.org          http://www.capeem.org
CAPEEM  is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization with tax ID 56-2565521. If you do not wish to receive updates from CAPEEM, please reply to this email with the word 'unsubscribe' in the subject line.