A Simle Middle School teacher is under investigation after showing a religious-themed video in health class.

"We acknowledge that a video clip was shown in a classroom that violated School Board policy and that a parent has submitted a letter of complaint," said Superintendent Paul Johnson, reading a written statement. "We are investigating the incident and will decide on Monday what action to take."

The teacher showed "A Letter from Hell," off of Godtube.com to a health class Wednesday, according to a letter from Steven and Heather Balaban, who have a daughter in the class. Two messages at Steve Balaban's law office were not returned, and a home number was not listed.

The school said the teacher was not at school Friday, and three messages left at the instructor's house were not returned.

The Balabans' letter said the video was meant to show the effects of drunken driving. The letter was sent to several members of the school district, board members and other members of the community. A copy of the letter was e-mailed to the Tribune. The seven-minute video is from the perspective of a teen who dies in a drinking-related car accident and writes a letter to his best friend. The dead friend wonders why the best friend didn't share Jesus with him. A disclaimer at the beginning of the video said it is meant to help teens share Christ with their friends. The link to the video can be found at the end of the story.

It upset their daughter, the Balabans said in the letter. The family is Jewish and it was the first day of Hanukkah. Their daughter had previously told the teacher she is Jewish.

The district has a policy for selection of supplemental instructional materials, which was updated in 2006, Johnson said. He referred questions about the appropriateness of the video and the location of the video to the policy, which is available online.

"The process laid out speaks to itself on that," Johnson said.

Supplemental items include videos, DVDs, books, newspapers, magazines, software and other audio visual items. Material must be related to the curriculum, be grade-level specific, not violate copyright and have a permission slip for rated movies. The policy, as it appears on the Web site, does not address religious content.

It is the first time since he has been in Bismarck that a complaint about a video has reached his office and the school board, he said.

It is too early to tell how the district will have to address the instructional material policy or if there will be sensitivity training with staff, he said.

The Bismarck School Board will address the issue at its regular meeting Monday. The Bismarck School Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Tom Baker meeting room of the City and County Building.

Video link: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1b5bd6e3e034d00b4f73

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)