A black Texas woman won a $90,000 settlement from her former high school teacher after she claimed educators harassed her for her refusal to stand up for the pledge, branding it racist.
Mari Leigh Oliver, 22, claimed she was bullied after taking a stand and sued several teachers and Klein Oak High School in the spring of 2017 before reaching a settlement on Tuesday.
The court had found that the Klein School District was not liable for the wrongful actions of its employees because it had not shown “willful indifference” to students’ rights, the Houston Chronicle reported.
However, Oliver’s sociology teacher, Benjie Arnold, 75, agreed to settle the case, according to the student’s attorneys at civil rights organization American Atheists.
The Texas Association of School Boards, a venture pool funded by Texas school districts, will pay the $90,000 for Arnold, according to Click 2 Houston.
Former Klein Oat High School student Mari Leigh Oliver (pictured in 2017) won a $90,000 settlement with the school in a 2017 discrimination case. The student refused to stand up for the pledge of allegiance, as she felt that “we live in a country where there is no justice and freedom for all”.
Her mother, LaShan Arcenaux (left, with her daughter) filed the lawsuit in 2017 against several teachers and the school district. All but one teacher and the district were dismissed from the case
Her daughter’s sociology teacher, Benjie Arnold, 75, (pictured) agreed to settle the case after allegedly molesting the student for two years and telling students the only way to express free speech was to vote
Arnold (pictured 2020) has been a teacher for over 50 years
Oliver, who is now in college, refused to stand up for the allegiance pledge because she felt “we live in a country where there is no justice and freedom for all,” she said in 2017.
She took offense at “under God” and “liberty and justice for all” because she didn’t believe African Americans were guaranteed that, according to her attorneys at the civil rights organization American Atheists.
“I’m not going to stick with a promise that says there is one when there really isn’t one,” she told a news conference in 2017.
Her lawyers said on Tuesday: “Teacher Benjie Arnold allegedly singled her out and got revenge on her for living up to the promise.
“Even though she was exempt from the Pledge under state law, and the teachers were informed of that fact during a staff meeting, Arnold still demanded that she and her classmates write it. After she refused, Arnold told her and the rest of the class, “What you did is leave me no choice but to give you a zero, and you can have whatever beliefs, resentments, and hostilities that You want to.”
Students can choose not to participate in the pledge as long as their parents request it in writing, according to the Houston Chronicle. It is unclear if her parents submitted a written request.
The student’s mother, LaShan Arcenaux, filed the lawsuit against the school district and several teachers, accusing them of retaliation and discrimination, which would eventually lead her to withdraw her daughter from school and homeschool her. The district and several teachers were later released from the case, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The mother said several teachers and students discriminated against and harassed her daughter afterward, and that school counselors and school administrators – including principal Brian Greeney – failed to address the issue.
The American Atheists said: “Arnold went on a lengthy tirade, offering to pay students to move to Europe if they didn’t like living in America – but they would have to pay him double that if they ever returned to the US.”
“He then expressed his own limited view of free speech and insinuated that everything else was un-American,” the organization said. Arnold, who has been teaching for 50 years, reportedly told students that the only way to express free speech was to vote.
He is said to have molested Oliver for two years, prompting the student to retire from Klein Oak. She later reportedly returned, but said the harassment got worse, causing her to have panic attacks that “seriously interfered with” her education and cost the family $10,000 in homeschooling supplies, the lawsuit states.
The student eventually left Klein Oak (pictured) and then returned. When she returned, she said the harassment had gotten worse and she needed homeschooling, which cost the family $10,000. The Texas Association of School Boards, a venture pool funded by Texas school districts, paid Arnold’s settlement
One of her attorneys, Geoffrey T. Blackwell (pictured), said the settlement “serves as a reminder that students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the classroom.”
“Non-religious students are often bullied or harassed for expressing their deeply held beliefs,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, in a statement.
“No one should have to endure the years of harassment, disrespect and bullying that our client has endured. The fact that this happened in a public school and by staff who should know better is particularly chilling. After almost five years of litigation, the defendant finally made the only wise decision and agreed to settle this case.’
“The classroom is not a pulpit. It’s a place of education, not indoctrination,” Geoffrey T. Blackwell, litigation counsel for American Atheists, said in a statement. “This agreement serves as a reminder that students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the classroom.”