The Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School Board in Salem County refused, saying that the study of biology and dissection are inseparable. That hands-on experience with actual animal specimens is the only way to effectively teach the class, the board said. Maggie got a zero for the assignment and a D in the course.
Contending that the district violated Maggie's First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, the McCools appealed to the state Department of Education. This week, the case goes before an administrative law judge in Trenton. The findings will be turned over to the department, which ultimately will decide the issue.
"It is possible this case could set precedent for the entire state," said Seymour Weiss, director of the Education Department's Bureau of Controversies and Disputes.
Maggie McCool's beliefs have long made the soft-spoken, delicately-featured teenager the subject of talk in rural Upper Pittsgrove Township, her family said recently. Now her case against the school is bringing to the surface a growing debate between animal rights activists and educators over the use of animal specimens in science classes.
The hearing will consist of two parts. First, the McCools must prove that Maggie's beliefs are legitimately held. If that is established, the school district must demonstrate that accommodating her beliefs would make it impossible to teach her the course adequately.
"Essentially what we are arguing is that Maggie has a sincere religious belief that prevents her from harming animals in any way," said Elizabeth J. Miller, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the McCools.
The school board will likely question Maggie closely to test the firmness of her beliefs. Following that, the school can argue that it could not adequately teach the class without the frogs.
