CALIFORNIA, USA, September 10, 2008: To counter gross inaccuracies in American 6th grade schoolbooks, the California Association of Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) filed in March 2006 a lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) and members of the State Board of Education (SBE). The lawsuit has now concluded its pre-trial phase.
CAPEEM initiated the action because the SBE had adopted textbooks that disparaged Hinduism while indoctrinating children with Abrahamic religious concepts, and also because the California Department of Education had followed illegal procedures in the creation of the books. The CDE held meetings in secret to avoid opposition, relying on advisers hostile to Hinduism, and discriminating against Hindus during the textbook adoption process.
CAPEEM filed many subpoenas and discovery requests, obtaining over 25,000 pages of documents, including an email proving that the California Department of Education had actually conducted a secret meeting with anti-Hindu groups. Other documents demonstrated extensive links between churches of other faiths and key people involved in the adoption process.
The case has been heating up since March. The defendants tried once more — still without success — to get it dismissed. CAPEEM has conducted a number of depositions and next week it will put forward the names of its experts and turn in their reports.
The “discovery process”, as the pre-trial is technically called, was very costly and could not have been completed without the generous support of all who responded to CAPEEM’s request for donations, for which we and all Hindus of America are grateful. The remaining part of the lawsuit will also require substantial resources. CAPEEM requests your renewed support and hopes you will donate liberally to make this case a success. Donations may be made at the link above or by writing a check in favor of CAPEEM and mailing it to: CAPEEM, PO Box 280442, Northridge, CA 91328. Any questions can be e-mailed to arvind@capeem.org