The teaching of creation science in public schools is a breach of the First Amendment- more specifically in the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” By teaching the creation story of God creating Adam and Eve, the public school is imposing its Christian views on children who may not be Christian. If a Muslim child goes to a public school, he would not have the same belief; he may believe in a god but not the God that is being taught about. By teaching the idea of God creating the world in seven days, the Establishment Clause would not be upheld.

In the case of Edwards v. Aguillard, Don Aguillard, a high school biology teacher, was faced with confrontation when he tried to teach the story of creation in a public school. The governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards, said that teaching the Creation Story was unconstitutional. The Creationism Act stated that if the evolution theory was taught in public schools, then the theory of creationism was also to be taught. Many people, however, challenged this act. Both the Federal District Court and the Court of Appeals declared that the Creationism Act was unconstitutional.

The court rulings came about because of the Lemon Test. The Lemon Test consists of three parts: the government’s action must have a secular purpose, it must avoid excessive entanglement between religion and government, and it must not enhance nor inhibit religion. This test is still used today. The Lemon Test is a way of protecting the Establishment Clause and academic freedom. With both the Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test in place, the government has very strict regulations about what can and cannot be done or said in the schools. This lasting precedent reaffirms that the advancing of any religious doctrine in the public school system is in direct violation of the First Amendment.