HARRISBURG – The PA Senate Education Committee approved a bipartisan measure to align PA with every other state in the nation in preserving and protecting First Amendment rights for educators, according to one of the measure’s sponsors: Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill of York County. A federal court case was held in 2003 after a PA teacher was suspended from her job because she would not remove or conceal a small cross she regularly wore on a necklace. The court ruled in favor of the teacher, who was rehired with back pay. The ruling found that the school’s religious affiliations policy violates the free exercise of religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment. The measure would eliminate a section from the state’s Education Code that prohibits a teacher from wearing any dress, mark emblem, or insignia indicative of his or her faith or denomination. Senate Bill 84 , co-sponsored by Berks County Sen. Judy Schwank, now advances to the full Senate.
SEN. JUDY SCHWANK
SEN. KRISTIN PHILLIPS-HILL