However his legal team—the Alliance Defense Fund—wished to clarify their argument. "We wanted to focus the issue," said Joshua Carden, a staff attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization based in Arizona. "The ADF wants to make clear the CUSD discriminated against Williams for his religious beliefs," he said. Court documents describe Williams as an "orthodox Christian," which Carden said is a traditional Christian who follows the Bible.

The controversy began last May when Stevens Creek Elementary School Principal Patricia Vidmar asked to review Williams' lesson plans and supplementary teaching materials. Vidmar made the request following complaints from parents about religious discussions in Williams' fifth-grade classroom. Some parents also expressed concern about possible proselytizing in the classroom, according to a website created by parents supportive of Stevens Creek, www.steven screekparents.org.

As a result, according to court documents, Vidmar allegedly prevented Williams from using material referencing God and Christianity. Such material included a fact sheet titled "What Great Leaders Have Said About the Bible," and sections of the Declaration of Independence.

Williams sought legal representation in the fall after attempts to negotiate a policy change with the school district did not succeed.

School district officials and Vidmar cannot comment because of the pending lawsuit. However, the school district stressed in a Nov. 29 press release that the Declaration of Independence had not been uniformly banned, adding, "The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and other guiding historical documents are addressed in an age appropriate manner." In censoring Williams, the school district also wrote that "well-established principles relating to the separation of church and state must prevail."

Now it is up to courts to decide.

The school district has 20 days from the amended lawsuit's Jan. 14 filing to respond. According to school district spokesman Jeremy Nishihara, lawyers representing the district plan to respond before the end of the month.