COLUMBUS, Ohio – A public school science instructor who was fired for refusing to remove religious materials from his classroom has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a state court’s decision upholding his dismissal.
John Freshwater’s attorney, Rita Dunaway, confirmed Tuesday that the high court has been asked to consider First Amendment issues in the case.
A divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled in November that the Mount Vernon school district had grounds to fire Freshwater in 2011 for insubordination for keeping religious books and a poster of a praying president. But it concluded the district infringed on Freshwater’s First Amendment rights by ordering the removal of his personal Bible from his desk.
In January, the court denied Freshwater’s request that it reconsider its decision.
Dunaway says the case’s “most significant constitutional issues” haven’t been addressed.
