Regarding Catholic parents' suit against a suburban New York district for promoting occult activities, a federal court ruled in May 1999 that parents had failed to prove existence of the so- called Bedford program. This Solomon-like ruling also rejected First Amendment religious claims and 14th Amendment privacy claims. (MLH)

In 1996, a small group of Roman Catholic parents in a suburban New York district filed suit, claiming that a new program was promoting Satanism, occultism, and New Age spirituality. Activities included a Ganesha story, worry dolls, stories on Buddha and Quetzalcoatl, poetry writing, psychic phenomena, and a cemetery visit. To be continued. (MLH)

Oddly, most religious controversy in public schools concerns school-sponsored rituals or student expression outside the classroom, not teaching of religious ideas. Reforms such as vouchers or tax credits would not violate the Establishment Clause, as they do not favor a particular religion. Instead, they demonstrate fairness to all parents,…