Federal appeals court says teacher has no right to banners mentioning God

 
A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected a claim by a teacher in the Poway Unified School District that his rights were violated when he was ordered to take down banners mentioning God.

Bradley Johnson, a high school math teacher, was ordered in 2007 by the school principal to take down the banners. He complied but filed a federal lawsuit.

Federal Judge Roger Benitez last year sided with Johnson. The banners, including ones reading "In God We Trust" and "One Nation Under God," are patriotic expressions deeply rooted in American history, he ruled.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the school district, like any employer, has the right to restrict the workplace speech of its employees.

Johnson is a teacher at Westview High School in the Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood of San Diego, part of the Poway district.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

 

Photo: Bradley Johnson and his classroom banners. Credit: Thomas More Legal Center, which represented Johnson in the lawsuit