STARNES: School: Lil' Wayne Is fine, The Bible Is Not

A Kansas middle school student who wanted to promote a “See You At the Pole” prayer event was barred from doing so because the fliers had “illegal” Bible verses, according to a federal lawsuit filed against the Unified School District No. 204.

Officials at Robert E. Clark Middle School in Bonner Springs confiscated and then destroyed the fliers the student had already posted, attorney Matt Sharp alleged.flyer1

Sharp, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of the seventh grade girl, known in court documents as “KR”.

“Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” Sharp said. “The law on this is extremely clear; school policies cannot target religious speech for exclusion. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all students, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”

In September the student posted fliers to promote a “See You At the Pole” rally. The event was part of a national day of prayer when students gather around the flagpole of their school at the beginning of the day to pray for the school, students and staff.

Some of the fliers included Bible verses referencing John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 – two well-known passages of Scripture in the New Testament.

The student posted the fliers in hallways at the school on Sept. 20th. Later that night, she returned to the school for a dance and was confronted by Chellie Bonebrake, a school counselor.

The lawsuit alleges that Bonebrake “forcefully” told the child that the fliers were “illegal” because they were a “violation of the separation of church and state.”

It isn’t even “organized religion”. It was Bible verses.

See You At The Pole is perfectly legal.

http://thewordout.net/pages/page.asp?page_id=56680

The Supreme Court has consistently upheld the rights of students to express themselves on public school

campuses, even within group contexts similar to See You at the Pole. In 1969, the Supreme Court held in

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District that students have the right to speak and

express themselves on campus.3 The Court later held in Board of Education v. Mergens that Bible clubs

and prayer groups have the right to meet on that Bible clubs and prayer groups have the right to meet on

public secondary school campuses.4 The Court interpreted the Equal Access Act 5 to insure that high

school students were not discriminated against in public schools because of their religious beliefs. The Act
provides that public secondary schools that receive federal funding must allow Bible clubs to meet on

campus during non-instructional time to the same extent that noncurricular clubs are permitted to meet on

campus.6 It should extend to student prayer groups as well as Bible clubs that organize See You at the

Pole or similar events. As Justice O’Connor explained, writing for the Court in Mergens, “if a State refused to
let religious groups use facilities open to others, then it would demonstrate not neutrality but hostility

toward religion.”7 Almost all public secondary schools receive federal funding. Thus, if such schools

permit non-curricular clubs such as Interact, Zonta, 4-H, Chess Club, and other service-type clubs to meet

and hold events on campus, those schools must also permit See You at the Pole events to the same

extent. In sum, student Bible clubs and prayer groups must be given equal access.

A. Students May Participate in See You at the Pole Even if the Event is Not Sponsored by An Officially Recognized Club.

As the Supreme Court made clear in Tinker, students have substantial rights under the First Amendment.

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