Creationist teacher transferred to gym class

DATE                  01/31/92
NEWSPAPER             THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SECTION               NEWS
EDITION               MORNING
PAGE                  a01
STORY LENGTH          21 INCHES
HEADLINE              Creationist teacher transferred to gym class
BYLINE/CREDIT         Dan Froomkin: The Orange County Register
SUBJECT TERMS         OC:FACULTY:RELIGION:SCHOOLS:POLICY
 
   John Peloza, the controversial creationist biology teacher at
  Capistrano Valley High School, was reassigned Thursday to teach gym.
     School-district administrators, bolstered by a major court
  victory two weeks ago, made the move to prevent Peloza from
  instructing biology students on his views of creation, rather than
  what's called for in state guidelines.
     Capistrano Unified School District spokeswoman Jackie Price said
  the district "determined that this reassignment is in the best
  interests of the staff and students of Capistrano Valley High
  School."
     Price said Peloza "has indicated that there are numerous items
  in the biology curriculum that he objects to or refuses to teach,"
  and the reassignment "gives him the opportunity to have a fresh
  start at the school."
     Peloza said he was disappointed but not surprised by the move.
     "I expected it to happen, because I'm not conforming to what's
  politically correct, and that is to teach the students that it is a
  fact that they evolved from monkeys," he said.
     Peloza's attorney, Cyrus Zal, said his client is "devastated,"
  and he compared the district's behavior to that of officials of the
  former Soviet Union.
     "We don't have the gulags," Zal said, "but we do have the
  physical education department."
     District officials refused to discuss the reasons for their
  decision. Price said school-board members were consulted, and that
  they approved.
     Peloza said that since his lawsuit was thrown out two weeks ago,
  administrators have been "chomping at the bit" to get him "out of
  public view."
     Teacher contracts allow them to be reassigned without cause.
  Peloza will keep his $48,731 annual salary.
     Price said Peloza will assume his new duties next week, at the
  beginning of the new semester. She said other biology teachers will
  take Peloza's students.
     Peloza taught physical education before coming to the Capistrano
  district, and majored in the subject in college. Price said he will
  fill the slot of a teacher who is on leave.
     There was no announcement of the decision Thursday at school,
  where students are taking exams.
     "I think there might be some shock, a little bit of surprise,"
  said student body President Eric Adams, 17. "Some people might
  think it's a little extreme, but my personal opinion is I don't
  know."
     Mike Rademaker, a junior who took Peloza's class two years ago,
  said he still thinks Peloza is a good teacher. "He's very active
  and he cares, which is pretty unusual," Rademaker said.

  BACKGROUND: Parents' complaints set off controversy

     John Peloza, 36, had taught biology at Capistrano Valley High
  School for eight years. Last February, after two parents
  complained, officials reprimanded him for allegedly preaching about
  his born-again-Christian beliefs on campus and failing to follow
  curriculum guidelines, which describe evolution as a valid
  scientific theory.
     Peloza later sued the district, saying the reprimand violated
  his rights. He and his attorney, Cyrus Zal, said they hoped the
  case would produce a landmark decision, rolling back decades of
  growing acceptance of the teaching of evolution in public schools.
     But in a Jan. 16 ruling, US District Judge David W. Williams
  threw the suit out, saying Peloza does not have "a constitutional
  right to conduct himself as a loose cannon."
     The judge wrote that students "have a right to be taught biology
  without the added comments and religious biases of the plaintiff,"
  and that the district's position was entirely just.