Colorado School District Settles With Teacher Who Claimed Discrimination

A southern Colorado school district accused of promoting evangelical Christian ideals has reached a settlement with a teacher who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination.

Robert Basevitz, who is Jewish, filed a suit in May saying that the Fremont RE-2 School District endorsed religion by allowing a church to operate in Florence High School for Sunday services, morning prayer and Bible study and pizza during lunch in a classroom.

The Denver Post reported that as part of the settlement the district has agreed to implement a district-wide ban on prayers at school-sponsored events, to no longer allow the Cowboy Church at Crossroads to use the district facilities and to enforce a policy requiring student-led religious groups to be employee-free.

Bazevitz’s attorney Paul Maxon says neither party admitted wrongdoing in the settlement.