FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH v. BENTON

Nos. 85-2288, 85-2370, 85-2371 and 85-2527.

815 F.2d 485 (1987)

FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH; Calvary Baptist Church; David B. Jaspers; M. Wayne Denton; Forrest Walker; George A. Stille, Jr.; Diane Peoples; Bradley A. Stille, a minor child, by way of his parent and guardian ad litem, George A. Stille, Jr.; Rita Marks, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Vernon Marks; and Janet Robb, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Keith J. Robb, Appellants, v. Robert T. BENTON, as Superintendent of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction and as Executive Officer of the Iowa Board of Public Instruction; Susan M. Wilson, Karen K. Goodenow William N. Cropp, Jolly Ann Davidson, Stephen C. Gerard, Dianne L. Paca, Mary E. Robinson, John E. Van Der Linden, Harold R. Yeoman, as Members of the Iowa State Board of Public Instruction; and Keokuk Community School District Board of Education, Appellees. FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH; Calvary Baptist Church; David B. Jaspers; M. Wayne Denton; Forrest Walker; George A. Stille, Jr.; Diane Peoples; Bradley A. Stille, a minor child, by way of his parent and guardian ad litem, George A. Stille, Jr.; Rita Marks, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Vernon Marks; and Janet Robb, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Keith J. Robb, Appellees, v. Robert T. BENTON, as Superintendent of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction and as Executive Officer of the Iowa Board of Public Instruction; Susan M. Wilson, Karen K. Goodenow, William N. Cropp, Jolly Ann Davidson, Stephen C. Gerard, Dianne L. Paca, Mary E. Robinson, John E. Van Der Linden, Harold R. Yeoman, as Members of the Iowa State Board of Public Instruction, Appellants, and Keokuk Community School District Board of Education. FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH; Calvary Baptist Church; David B. Jaspers; M. Wayne Denton; Forrest Walker; George A. Stille, Jr.; Dianne Peoples; Bradley A. Stille, a minor child, by way of his parent and guardian ad litem, George A. Stille, Jr.; Rita Marks, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Vernon Marks; and Janet Robb, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Keith J. Robb, Appellees, v. Robert T. BENTON, as Superintendent of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction and as Executive Officer of the Iowa Board of Public Instruction; Susan M. Wilson, Karen K. Goodenow, William N. Cropp, Jolly Ann Davidson, Stephen C. Gerard, Dianne L. Paca, Mary E. Robinson, John E. Van Der Linden, Harold R. Yeoman, as Members of the Iowa State Board of Public Instruction; and Keokuk Community School District Board of Education, Appellant. FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH; Calvary Baptist Church; David B. Jaspers; M. Wayne Denton; Forrest Walker; George A. Stille, Jr.; Diane Peoples; Bradley A. Stille, a minor child, by way of his parent and guardian ad litem, George A. Stille, Jr.; Rita Marks, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Vernon Marks; and Janet Robb, a minor child, by way of her parent and guardian ad litem, Keith J. Robb, Appellees, v. Robert T. BENTON, as Superintendent of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction and as Executive Officer of the Iowa Board of Public Instruction; Susan M. Wilson, Karen K. Goodenow, William N. Cropp, Jolly Ann Davidson, Stephen C. Gerard, Dianne L. Paca, Mary E. Robinson, John E. Van Der Linden, Harold R. Yeoman, as Members of the Iowa State Board of Public Instruction; and Keokuk Community School District Board of Education, Appellant.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Decided March 27, 1987.

Rehearing Denied April 27, 1987.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Daniel Jon Loomis, Cleveland, Ohio, for appellant.

Merle Wilna Fleming, Asst. Atty. Gen., Des Moines, Iowa, for Robert T. Benton and Iowa State Bd. of Public Instruction.

David L. Jenkins, Des Moines, Iowa, for Keokuk School Dist. Bd. of Educ.

Before HEANEY and ROSS, Circuit Judges, and LARSON, Senior District Judge.


LARSON, Senior District Judge.

In this appeal, the Court is presented with a broad-based attack on Iowa's compulsory school laws. Plaintiffs are two fundamentalist Baptist church schools, the churches' pastors and principals, and several of the schools' teachers, parents and students. The creation of plaintiffs' church schools is a relatively recent development dating from the 1970s — a part of the growing trend towards the establishment of such schools throughout...

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