Yoga classes in public schools don't amount to religious instruction, appeals court says
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Yoga classes taught at public schools don’t amount to an impermissible establishment of Hindu religion that violates the California Constitution, a state appeals court has ruled.
In an April 4 opinion (PDF), the California Court of Appeal’s 4th District ruled against parents who objected to the classes, taught in the Encinitas Union School District as an alternative to gym, report How Appealing, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal (sub.req.).
The school district had used a grant from the KP Jois Foundation to expand the yoga program to all of its schools. The instructors were to be hired by the school district and trained by the foundation. One aim was to teach students life skills such as self–discipline, balance and responsibility, according to the school’s grant proposal.
After initial complaints by parents who said the yoga program was religious, the school removed Sanskrit verbiage and references to the inner spirit of the child. It also switched to child-friendly terms for poses, such as “criss-cross applesauce” and “boat.”
The appeals court said the yoga program had a secular purpose and did not advance Hinduism. Though the foundation taught instructors to ensure they were proficient in teaching yoga poses, the foundation did not help develop the school curriculum and did not demand that religious principles be taught.
“A yoga program such as the district’s that merely combines physical poses with breathing and quiet contemplation does not comport with any definition of religious activity of which we are aware,” the court said.
