Hills v. Scottsdale Unified School District

329 F.3d 1044
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMay 22, 2003
DocketNo. 01-17518
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 329 F.3d 1044 (Hills v. Scottsdale Unified School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hills v. Scottsdale Unified School District, 329 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

In this case, we again confront the often confusing intersection of First Amendment rights and the delicate balance which must be struck by our public schools in insuring the right to Free Speech but avoiding endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. Striking this balance has never been easy and this appeal demonstrates just how difficult it can be.

Joseph Hills appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant Scottsdale Unified School District (the “District”). The District permits nonprofit organizations to distribute literature through its schools, promoting events and activities of interest to students, but prohibits any flyers of a “commercial, political or religious nature.” After some back and forth, the District ultimately refused to distribute Hills’s brochure for a summer camp that included, among nineteen course offerings, two classes on “Bible Heroes” and “Bible Tales.” Application of Supreme Court precedent requires the conclusion that the District discriminated against Hills on the basis of his religious viewpoint, and requires us to hold that the District violated Hills’s First Amendment rights by denying him equal access to the District’s schools.

[1047]*1047BACKGROUND

The District has a policy and practice of allowing certain outside groups to distribute or display brochures and other promotional literature to its students. Permitted brochures are either made available for students to pick up or placed in teachers’ in-house mailboxes and then distributed by the teachers to their students. The assistant superintendent explained the purpose of permitting flyer distribution as a “community service” for parents and children, getting information to those who would be most interested in participating. Examples of acceptable flyers included those promoting summer camps, art classes, sports leagues, artistic performances or exhibits, and various YMCA, boys and girls clubs, and scouting activities.

The official policy regarding the distribution and display of promotional activities provided:

Outside agencies must receive District Approval by the Superintendent or des-ignee prior to distribution or display of any materials.
Non-school originated material of a commercial, political or religious nature shall not be displayed at a school office. Material from community organizations or of a general nature that is not of a commercial, political or religious nature may be displayed at the school at the discretion of the principal, prior to its being displayed.1

(emphasis added). In addition to these limitations, in 1998 the District decided that only literature from nonprofit groups and government entities would be eligible for distribution.

Hills, an individual with experience teaching after-school programs and summer camps, decided to offer a nonprofit summer camp called the “Desert Mountain Summer Camp,” run by A Little Sonshine from Arizona, an Arizona nonprofit corporation of which Hills was president. He sought to advertise the camp by distributing a multi-page brochure to nine District elementary schools.

The brochure described nineteen courses that would be offered, including classes in camping, gymnastics, golf, and elementary Spanish. There were also two classes entitled “Bible Heroes” and “Bible Tales.” The course description for Bible Heroes read as follows:

Did you know ... some of the greatest people who ever lived never had a home-run record? Never flew a plane or rode a train? Never starred in a motion picture (except Moses), and still do not have a Monday holiday named after them? It’s true! Come, take an adventurous ride back into time with us, and learn about some ordinary people whose faith in GOD helped them accomplish extraordinary things! Remember Noah? Just how does a man build a boat that big? And Moses ... he gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “You da Man!” We will explore Bible heroes from both the Old and New Testaments, and of course we will learn about our Greatest example JESUS. We will explore this through play acting, and puppetry, costuming, and set design, makeup and surely we will learn our lines! Come, join us in the Word, and learn what we mean by “role model.”

The course description for the Bible Tales class stated:

We at Desert Mountain Summer Camp believe in a little something for everybody! That’s why we have created this [1048]*1048version of our Bible Heroes for the little Guys and Gals! Did you know that if a child does not come to the knowledge of JESUS CHRIST and learn of the importance of Bible reading by the age 12 chances are slim that they ever will in this life? We think it is important to start as young as possible! We will Sing, Act, Dance and Relive some [of] the Greatest stories ever told! And maybe ... we’ll even have a surprise visit from Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, the award winning “Veggie-Tales” guys! (so much for the surprise!)

Following these course descriptions was a note which stated: “[TJhese classes are Non-denominational in nature. All Faiths are Welcome.”

Hills’s brochure was initially approved for distribution by district officials. Following a parental complaint, however, district officials decided to stop distributing the camp brochure. A few days later, Hills was permitted to resume distributing the brochure so long as it contained the following disclaimer:

The Scottsdale Unified School District neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity represented in this document. The distribution of this material is provided as a community service.2

The District then reversed course, telling Hills he would not be allowed to distribute the brochures even with the disclaimer. One week later, the District agreed Hills could finish distributing the brochures as long as the disclaimer was included. Another week passed and the District changed its mind again and rescinded permission, concluding it was necessary to maintain a consistent legal position in administration of the literature distribution program and to avoid a possible Establishment Clause violation.

Hills was also told that he could resubmit his brochure and that it would be acceptable if he would remove descriptions of the Bible classes, change the spelling of “Sonshine” to “Sunshine,” omit graphics of the Bible, cross and dove, and incorporate the disclaimer into the brochure.3 Hills elected not to revise his brochure and instead brought suit in district court, alleging violations of his right to Free Speech, Free Exercise of Religion, Equal Protection and Due Process. Both parties moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted summary judgment to the District on all claims. We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Everhart v. Allmerica Financial Life Ins. Co., 275 F.3d 751, 753 (9th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 958, 122 S.Ct. 2662, 153 L.Ed.2d 836 (2002).

DISCUSSION

I. Free Speech

Hills’s principal complaint is that the District’s policy violates his right to Free Speech under the First Amendment.

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Hills v. Scottsdale Unified School
329 F.3d 1044 (Ninth Circuit, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
329 F.3d 1044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hills-v-scottsdale-unified-school-district-ca9-2003.