John Wood is a parent of a teenage student who attends La Plata High School, who was allegedly required to participate in a World History lesson in which she had to profess and write out the Islamic Creed for an assignment. The Board of Education at Charles County Schools, along with the Principal and Vice principal of La Plata High School, are being sued in Federal Court by Mr. Wood.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood are not suing the school for teaching the lesson, but instead suing for deprivation of rights, since their daughter was not allowed to take another assignment to make up for the lost credit. Charles County Public Schools released a statement to clarify on their World History curriculum, but had no comments on the suit. The statement said, “The particular unit in question is on the formation of Middle Eastern empires in which students learned the basic concepts of the Islamic faith and how it, along with politics, culture, economics and geography, contributed to the development of the Middle East. Other religions are introduced when they influence or impact a particular historical era or geographic region. For example, when reviewing the Renaissance and Reformation, students study the concepts and role of Christianity. When learning about the development of China and India, students examine Hinduism and Buddhism.” Mr. and Mrs. Wood are being represented by a Michigan-based company named Thomas More Law Center. Thomas More Law center published a quick synopsis of the case on their website, which included a quote from their clients who “refuse to allow their teenage daughter to be subjected to Islamic indoctrination and propaganda in her high school World History class.”
The suit was filed on January 27th 2016, so it will be several months before it is settled. This will be an interesting case as it could cause major education reform in the History department depending on the verdict. The complete document of the filed suit can be found online at thomasmore.org.