14 DAY TRIAL // A teacher from Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania has been suspended and subsequently terminated over giving a student a Bible for him to study.
Walt Tutka is suing the school district, claiming that he has been discriminated against on religious grounds.
According to WFMZ, he explains giving the student the Holy Book upon his request during a class at Phillipsburg Middle School.
He offered the student a quote from the Bible while he was standing in line for something and he was prompted for more information on the quote. He cited Matthew 20:16, referencing the child's position in the queue.
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last,” he said.
He offered the boy his own Bible for him to look up and was suspended for it. The incident took place on October 12 and the teacher was put on leave on October 15.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has received a complaint from Tutka stating that his January 14 termination is based on retaliation and inflicts upon his rights not to suffer discrimination based on his religious beliefs.
“I believe that I have been discriminated against in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and retaliated against regarding same,” he says.
News Oxy writes that non-profit group The Liberty Institute has stepped in to offer Tutka legal counsel, along with an unnamed law firm based in New Jersey.
Members of the Christian organization describe it as “dedicated to restoring and defending religious liberty across America.”
“It is shocking that the school district has forced Walt to file a complaint with the EEOC for religious discrimination.
“All Walt did was respond to a student’s intellectual curiosity and the school district suspended and then terminated him,” Litigating Director Hiram Sasser argues.