FFRF helps Calif. school rethink religious homework assignment (Feb. 27, 2013)

Thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, students at a grade school in Riverside, Calif., were not required to complete a proselytizing religious homework assignment.

A concerned parent contacted FFRF after a sixth grade teacher at Harrison Elementary School assigned students homework that treated biblical tales, such as the story of ten plagues on the Egyptians, as historic facts. The assignments also required students to read the bible and copy the Ten Commandments.

FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel contacted representatives of the Riverside Unified School District to explain why the assignment was not appropriate in a public school.

Renee Hill, the Director of Elementary Education for Riverside Unified School District, contacted Seidel in a Feb. 27 email. She said students will not be required to turn in the assignment or be penalized if they choose not to complete it.