Supreme Court Rejects N.J. School Bible Story Case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case from New Jersey dealing with an elementary school student who wanted to read a Bible story to his classmates.

The dispute began in 1996 after Zachary Hood, then a first grader at a Medford, N.J., elementary school, was told he could read aloud to his classmates as a reward for doing well in class. Hood and other students who had been selected were asked to bring in short, simple stories, and the teacher, Grace Oliva, vetted their selections.

Hood wanted to read a story from The Beginner's Bible called "A Big Family," which is based on the Old Testament account of Jacob and Esau. Concerned about the religious character of the choice, Oliva told Hood he could not read the Bible story to the entire class but did allow him to read it to her privately.

Hood and his mother, Carol, sued the school district, arguing that the boy had a constitutional right to read the story out loud. The two were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a conservative Catholic-oriented legal advocacy organization.

Lower federal courts disagreed with the Hoods, holding that teachers have considerable discretion in making decisions about the educational activities that take place in their classrooms. (Hood v. Medford Board of Education)

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and allied organizations filed a brief on behalf of the school district at the lower court level. The groups argued that public schools have no obligation to allow students to present religious material to a captive audience of their classmates.