'Horrendous' religious freedom violation leads to payout by Chicago Public Schools

A court-approved settlement of over $2.6 million is being paid to 207 former Chicago Public School students who were required to participate in a Transcendental Meditation program during class.

The settlement approved by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly requires the Chicago Board of Education and the New York-based David Lynch Foundation to pay $100,000 to the lead plaintiff and from $3,000 to $9,500 each to the remaining students who filed claims.

Attorney John Mauck, partner at Mauck & Baker, said the so-called “Quiet Time” program was a horrendous violation of religious freedom.

“The David Lynch Foundation, which promotes what they call ‘Transcendental Meditation,’ which is really totally Hindu worship and Hindu meditation, worked its way into the Chicago schools for a number of years,” Mauch explained.

Mauck said students were coerced to go through a Hindu initiation ceremony with offerings to a guru and repeat mantras with the names of Hindu deities.

“Another student was told, ‘If you don’t kneel before the picture of the guru during your initiation ceremony, it could affect your eligibility on the girls basketball team,’” Mauck related.

Mauck said students were instructed not to tell their parents, especially if the parents were religious.

“So parents were kept in the dark. Of course, some students didn’t obey that restriction and the parents eventually found out,” Mauck said.

Mauck said parents got involved, and the school board eventually dropped the program when the Transcendental Meditation group refused to stop holding the Hindu initiation ceremony.

Mauck said the court certified 773 students who had been required to participate in the program. More than 200 filed claims, and Mauck said those students are receiving checks between $3,000 and $9,400 each.

Citing the recent Mahmoud v. Taylor decision, Mauck said the U.S. Supreme Court has reemphasized parental control over religious education of students.

“The parents have an opt-out, and they need to be informed if there are religiously-controversial teachings going on,” Mauck explained.

Mauck said he was not aware of similar cases in Illinois, but there have been cases in California, Massachusetts, New York and “a lot in New Jersey.”

Mauck said Transcendental Meditation is out of Chicago schools, but parents should find out if similar programs are happening in their schools.