Student teacher reaches agreement in dispute about school prayer

October 6, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) A student teacher who claimed she was given a failing grade because she objected to teacher-led prayer in a Louisiana classroom has settled a lawsuit she filed against her university.

In an agreement, senior education major Pamela Thompson accepted a "withdrawal" grade for the student-teaching course she took during her final semester at Southeastern Louisiana University.

The mark replaces the failing grade she originally received.

But while her transcript has been salvaged, Thompson must fulfill more requirements -- including repeating her student-teaching assignment -- before receiving her diploma from the university, according to the settlement.

Despite the contingencies attached to her degree, officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, who backed Thompson's case, deemed the terms "favorable," saying it removed the tarnish from her transcript and empowered those who sought to defend religious freedom in public settings.

"It did vindicate her right for free speech," said Joe Cook, ACLU's executive director for Louisiana. "And hopefully, it sent a message that retaliation under these circumstances is illegal."

Meanwhile, officials from Southeastern, who long contended Thompson's grade came as a result of her academic performance and not her objections to school prayer, said the resolution is consistent with the university's original position, as the option of earning a withdrawal grade was offered to her in early negotiations as an alternative to failing.

"Nothing has been gained through months of litigation," Southeastern President Randy Moffett said in a prepared statement, as the decision to take the withdrawal grade was offered "before the lawsuit was even filed."

In early 2005, Thompson was assigned to the public D.C. Reeves Elementary School in Ponchatoula, La., as part of her student-teaching training. Over the next few months, she observed teacher Pamela Sullivan lead her class in prayer and organize a Bible study group on school grounds on several occasions.

The Tangipahoa Parish School Board, which also named a defendant in the case, later investigated Sullivan, verified the allegations and ultimately halted such practices, Cook said.

-- Jenny Hurwitz