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Page 19
Faith Collides with Oregon Law
continued ¿ ^ fr o m Front
K. Kublis, an anti-Catholic w ho sym ­
pathized w ith the Kian.
A t the tim e, R om an C ath o lic
priests and nuns w ere asserting the
right to teach in public schools, and
the law w as a c lear ja b at them .
B ut it’s been rarely applied T he
last tim e a teacher cam e into contact
w ith the law w as in 1983, w hen Janet
C ooper, a E ugene special education
teacher, becam e a Sikh.
C o o p er c h an g ed h e r nam e to
K arta K aur K halsa and began w ear­
ing a turban and w hite clothing to
school in adherence w ith her new
faith.
T h e state T e a c h e rs S ta n d a rd s
a n d P ra c tic e s C o m m is s io n r e ­
v o k e d K h a ls a ’s te a c h in g c re d e n ­
tial a fte r b e in g su sp e n d e d by h e r
d is tric t..
K halsa sued, taking her case all
the w ay to the O regon Suprem e
C ourt in 1986, claim ing that her right
to practice h er religion, protected
by the O regon and U .S. c o n stitu ­
tions, had been violated.
T h e c o u rt ru le d a g a in st K h alsa,
a rg u in g th at a te a c h e r w e arin g r e ­
lig io u s d re ss c o u ld le av e an im ­
p re s sio n , c o n sc io u s o r o th e rw ise ,
on stu d e n ts, an d th re a te n e d the
re lig io u s n e u tra lity o f the c la s s ­
room .
Z ahedi- a native o f Iran w ho
teaches language arts and social
studies at the Islam ic School o f
Portland, a private school, w hich
isn ’t covered under the ban- sup­
ports reform ing the law because she
feels it w ill be good for students to
see w hat a M uslim w om an looks
like, especially as society becom es
m ore diverse.
“ A t least th e y w ill see th e re are
o th e r k in d s o f p e o p l e ,” s a id
Z a h e d i, w ho a d d e d th a t she has
o v e rh e a rd c h ild re n a sk th e ir p a r­
en ts if she is w e a rin g a c o stu m e
w h ile in p u b lic .
T he O regon E ducation A ssocia­
tion is neutral on the issue, but
support for repealing the law is grow ­
in g e ls e w h e re . O re g o n H o u se
S peaker D ave H unt, D -G ladstone,
supports the repeal and a legislative
hearing has already been held on it
in preparation for next m o n th ’s leg ­
islative session.
In N ovem ber, state L abor C o m ­
m issio n er B rad A vakian, and state
S uperintendent o f Public Instruc­
tion S usan C astillo, sent a letter to
legislative leaders calling for its re ­
peal.
In th e ir le tte r, A v a k ia n and
C astillo argued that the law is unfair,
and schools already have the m eans
to prevent teachers from pro sely tiz­
ing their students.
T he letter points out that the law
w as applied very narrow ly in the
C o o p e r case, b u t is still b ro ad
enough to ensnare teachers w ith
less overt religious garb.
create new problem s.
“If the law is repealed, you open
the d o o r to religious expression in
O re g o n s c h o o l s ,” s a id D a v id
Fidanque, executive d irecto r o f the
O regon A CLU .
F idanque argued that teachers
w ill be able to w ear clo th in g clearly
aim ed at creating a religious e n v i­
ronm ent in the classroom if A vakian
and C astillo have th eir w ay.
For in stan ce, a te ac h e r co u ld
w ear a shirt saying “Em brace Jesus,”
he said.
Fidanque also points out that
there m ight have been bigoted m o­
tivations behind the law w hen it was
it was passed in the 1920s, but was
reaffirm ed in 1965 by the O regon
L egislature and then-G ov. M ark
H atfield, one o f the state ’s ch am p i­
ons o f equality.
B ut E ric H a ll- a p a rtn e r at
R othgerber, Johnson, and L yons, a
law firm that specializes church and
state issues- said that O regon could
photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
be vulnerable to an o th er civil suit
Language arts and social studies instructor Laleh Zahedi covers her head in the religious tradition
because it puts people w ho express
other Muslim faith. Zahedi supports reforming Oregon law to allow public school teachers to wear
religious clothing, saying the freedom to dress as a Muslim woman would help students understand their religion on unequal footing
w ith others.
cultural differences and embrace cultural diversity.
He said that schools can im pose
In addition to not defining w hat sm all cross or S tar o f D avid.
to an already touchy subject.
a dress code on teachers, but it gets
“religious d ress” is, the letter a r­
O regon is poised for another law ­
But the O regon C h ap ter o f the prickly once it begins targeting reli­
gues, it could be appled so g en er­ suit, argued A vakian and C astillo,
A m erican Civil Liberties Union w or­ gious belief.
ally as to affect teachers w earing w ith such a vague and all-en co m ­
ries that hastily repealing the law in
“ Y ou c a n ’t pick out the religious
som ething as inconspicuous as a passing law on its books pertainaing
a short legislative session w ill ju s t ex p ressio n ,” said Hall.
Oregon Department of Transportation
Special Invitation to Bid
Interstate 84: Sandy River - Jordan Road, Bundle 210
OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program
TroU
° t Z e Y UbCOnlraC' ine Pilr," er Wi‘ h ° D0T ° n "
° ™ 111 S,a‘ e B" dge ° eliwe,y Program bridge “ “ ‘ " « ‘ ¡0« Project in
inClUdei f 3
business enterprise (DBE) goal for African American-owned, Subcontinent Asian-owned or
Asian Pacific-owned firms. ODOT is also including diversity as a scored element in the selection of the prime contractor and strongly
encourages the use of additional small businesses above the DBE goal.
8 y
Subcontracting opportunities in a variety of work types are potentially available:
Asphalt concrete
Bridge demolition
Fence fabrication/installation
Guardrail
Bridge joints
MSE wall construction
Concrete core drilling
Concrete cutting/deck grinding
Ornamental protective fencing
Paving
Earthwork
Environmental
Erosion/sediment control
• Ready-mix concrete
• Reinforcing steel fabrication/
installation
Right of way
1 Survey
1 Temporary concrete barrier,
reflectorized
Steel fabrication/erection
Temporary illumination/traffic
signals
Permanent lighting
Steel piling
Temporary striping
Permanent seeding
Steel pipe pile supply/driving
Traffic control/flagging
• Permanent striping/signage
Storm and sewer/inlets
Please attend a pre-bid meeting to learn more about this project:
Monday, February 1, 2 010,1:30-4:00 p.m.
ODOT Region 1 Headquarters
123 N.W. Flanders St., Portland, OR 97209
The meeting is mandatory for all prime contractors interested in bidding. Subcontractors, please bring information about your
company, and meet and network with prime contractors. Prime contractors will submit sealed bids by Thursday, February 18, 2010.
Additional information is available on ODOT's contracting Web site:
http://www.oregon.gou/ODOT/CS/CONSTRUCTION/Alternatiue_Contracting.shtml
Direct questions to: Larry Lewter, Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners,
(503) 5 8 7 -3 6 3 9 , larry.lewter@obdp.org
ODOT supports the participation of disadvantaged, minority, women and emerging small business
enterprises, as well as opportunities for trainees and apprentices, on highway construction projects.
ODOT is a n e q u a l e m p lo y m e n t o p p o r tu n ity a n d a ff ir m a tiv e a c tio n e m p lo y e r.
OSM
OREGON TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT ACT