Student sues district over policy on religious statements

[Khephra]

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -- A fourth-grader claims a school district violated her Constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection by refusing to allow her to distribute "personal statement" flyers to other students because they carried a religious message.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court against the Liverpool Central School District by Nicole Martin and her daughter, Michaela Bloodgood, a fourth-grader at Nate Perry Elementary School.

"This is nothing less than viewpoint discrimination," said Mat Staver, an attorney and executive director of Liberty Counsel, an Orlando, Fla.-based conservative legal group, which is representing Bloodgood.

"The idea that people would think the district was endorsing Michaela's statements is simply absurd. Schools do not endorse everything they allow students to distribute," Staver said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--forbiddenflyer1028oct28,0,6147997.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[pinerow]

1. A four year old...I thought they would be more concerned about

Sponge Bob...sheesh!!!

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Fourth-GRADER

not four-year old

[Khephra]

3. Fourth grade

not four-year-old.

[gratuitous]

4. Not a four-year-old, a fourth grader

Hoo boy. Some people really, truly have nothing better to do in their lives, I guess (referring to the fourth grader and her sue-happy parents).

Oh well, I guess I should get over to her church and hand out my own personal information flyers to folks as they go in and come out. I'm sure they'd have no objection, right?

[Parche]

16. flyer

So How does Jesus give us NEW lives?

[Anakin Skywalker]

18. Jesus gives new lives

By making BORN-AGAIN christians :) Or at least, that's what they tell themselves.

[pinerow]

5. My apologies...let me re-phrase that...A Ten year old????

the Sponge Bob comment still applies...sheesh!!!

[Hobarticus]

6. Cute...using a kid to forward an agenda.

No way this kid came up with this on their own.

[sandnsea]

12. Started in 3rd grade

You bet these parents are using this kid. Although, from what I understand, students do have freedom of religious expression at school. It just can't be orchestrated by the teacher. They should have just let the kid pass out her stuff and it would have been over a long time ago.

[Heddi]

7. The parents/lawyers are fugging MORONS

It says:

Additionally, the lawsuit noted that Michaela has received literature from other students at school, including literature concerning a YMCA basketball camp, Syracuse Children's Theater promotion of the show "Dragon Slayers" and the Camp Fire USA's summer camps.

Uh, if they can't tell the difference between "Five Ways That Jesus Saved My Life" and an ad for a basketball camp, then these people have far more things to worry about than whether their daughter can pass out materials at school.

I have a sneaking suspicion that these parents would have sued the school had, say, a Muslm student passed out a flyer that said "Hi! My name is Adam Smith and I'm 10 years old and here are the 5 ways that Allah has changed my life" or "Hi! My name is Gwynneth Jones. I'm 9 years old and I want to tell you about the 5 ways that The Goddess has changed my life" or "My name is Chao Nguen, and I'm 8 years old and I want to tell you about the 5 ways that Buddah has changed my soul"

Shame on these parents for using this young girl to further their twisted agenda. Obviously she goes to church. Obviously she has friends at school---why must she prostletyze on school time? They say she wanted to pass these out during 'non instructional times' like recess and lunch and on the bus---however, while these ARE non-instructional times, it's still times that the children are under the legal responsiblity of the school. Non instructional as it may be, but you can't do ANYTHING you want during recess just because it's non-instructional time. The rules of the school last from the minute you step foot on the bus until the minute you step off.

Would it have been so hard to talk to her friends, you know, after school, in the neighborhood, at her house, etc? Why must it be on school time? Oh yes. I know. Because if tries to do it at home, and her friends' parents want no part of it, there's no one to sue. However, if she does it on school time and parents raise the same objection, then it's a legal matter for which the family can sue and sue and sue and sadly, alienate their child from her friends and peers so that they can furuther their 'prayer in school' and other such-nonsense.

fucking nuts, man!

[chimpy the poopthrower]

8. I wonder if this girl's parents would object...

...if she came home with a "personal statement" flyer from a Wiccan or a Muslim or a Hare Krishna (sp?) or an atheist? Or literature supporting a political candidate or party?

Students do have the right to discuss religion and other subjects in their free time, even on school grounds. But passing out literature seems to me to be going beyond "free speech" and into some other territory. It's not on a personal basis when you're running off copies for every kid in the school. Still, if the Courts find it allowable, that's fine -- as long as everyone understands that this will have to apply across the board. Seems to me like it's just opening a big can of worms.

[LizW]

9. A set-up

That's why they went through the motions of asking the school if it was okay to hand the stuff out. They were seeking a tacit endorsement. If a parent had complained they would have said, "But the school said we could!"

But they didn't really want that. They wanted the school to say no so the could cry persecution.

[0rganism]

10. Religious proseletizing is not protected speech in public schools

Whether the speaker is a student or a teacher, it's not allowed during school hours or at school-endorsed functions. Period.

[jdj]

15. I'll never forget Toby Friedman, my civics teacher in 7th grade

on a field trip to Washington D.C. there was a street preacher on the steps to the Lincoln memorial, and just before a reporter snapped a picture she yelled "everbody turn around" and made us face away from the preacher so it wouldn't look like we were listening to him, she may have thought the photographer worked for him or his church. This was a split second thing she did, she was so smart. She was Jewish, and brought footage of Hitler's medical experiments on people to class and showed them to us, a bunch of 12 year olds. You couldn't do that now. That made such an impact on me.

[Bandit]

11. I would think the school has the right and the obligation to keep

inflamitory material off school grounds. Anyone who doesn't think religion is inflamitory doesn't know history at all. the school is in the right and it has nothing to do with religion really. It has to do with maintaining order. I'm sure they wouldn't allow me to distribute material advocating for pornography or gay lifestyle.

[Anakin Skywalker]

19. You Said it. I cannot agree more.

[LiberalFighter]

13. How would the parents feel if other students forced

phamplets on how little girls are devil worshipers? Or that Satan is waiting for them at home?

[geniph]

14. *beating head against wall*

why, oh WHY, do they feel it's necessary to evangelize in the public schools? Why not send the kid to a church school if they feel religion is important in her schooling? Does the school insist on coming to their church to teach social studies? Keep your prayer in your chosen house of worship, and we'll keep learning out of your churches. :eyes:

[jdj]

17. yes, I'm not even sure this isn't against school rules.

the attorney acts like they are discriminating against her for handing this stuff out, but it may be against the rules anyway.

[mongo]

21. Why?

Because to them freedom of religion means the freedom to shove their religion down your throat.

Somewhere around 20% of 'mericans feel that the US is a "Christian Nation", and us godless libruls have taken their rights away.

They are working everyday to change our nation into a Xtian theocracy.

[davidinalameda]

20. how stupid!

tell the little girl and her bible beating parents to distribute the flyer on public property-which school grounds aren't!

[Bridget Burke]

22. Why did she need a "new life"?

We've all heard of the drugged out, broke & shopworn types who "find Jesus". How horrible was this little girl's life that she needed a new one?