No God in the classroom?

In what seems like a more and more familiar tale [1], a high school teacher in San Diego was told by his school board that he could no longer hang signs or banners in his classroom with phrases like "One Nation Under God", "In God We Trust", or "God Bless America". In fact, even a direct quote from the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator", was put on the school district's naughty list.

And it's not as though this was a new thing.  It turns out that the teacher in question, Bradley Johnson, had been putting up such signs in his classroom for over twenty-five years without complaint.  San Diego's Ponway Unified School District leadership complained that the signs "over-emphasized" God, "conveyed a Judeo-Christian viewpoint", and that they might "offend" others.  At the same time, teachers in the district were allowed to display signage celebrating or promoting other things, such as gay rights.

We fail to see why anyone (least of all Americans) should be "offended" by things like our national motto or Declaration of Independence.  And, believe it or not, a federal judge in the liberal 9th Circuit agreed.

Judge Roger Benitez found that the school district had in fact violated the teacher's constitutional rights of free speech.  The judge found that teachers "do not lose their constitutional rights inside the schoolhouse gate, and that government may not squelch one viewpoint while favoring another."

Even better, Judge Benitez stated that the fact that “God places prominently in our Nation’s history does not create an Establishment Clause violation requiring curettage and disinfectant for
Johnson’s public high school classroom walls.”

Of course, we're sure we haven't heard the last of the case.  Especially considering that this IS the liberal 9th Circuit, and it may get appealed.  But in the meantime, we'll bask in the glow of a little common sense.