Texas Liberals... Just Damn!!!
Posted on 12/21/2004 1:26:51 PM PST by Libloather
U.S. Department of Justice opens inquiry into Plano school’s restrictive Christmas policy
Preliminary inquiry announced one day after lawsuit filed by ADF and LLI
Release Date: 2004-12-16
Primary Category: Religious Freedom
ADF Media Relations
480-444-0020
PLANO, Texas—The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it is opening a “preliminary inquiry” into the Plano Independent School District.
The announcement comes one day after attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute filed suit against the district for its restrictive policy against religious Christmas expression (www.alliancedefensefund.org/story/?id=566).
“Though the DOJ has made no determination about the merits of this case, their inquiry is certainly a significant development,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “We are pleased that DOJ officials are looking closely at this situation.”
In a letter dated today (www.alliancedefensefund.org/media/DOJletter.pdf) which requests legal documents and information related to the case, the DOJ states it is opening the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the “federal lawsuit regarding the Plano Independent School District’s…alleged refusal to permit students to distribute religious messages during school parties and on school property.”
ADF is America’s largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
From 12/15 -
Plano school district bans Christmas colors
District forbids red and green; only white allowed at “winter break” parties
“Jesus” pencils and candy canes with religious notes also axed; ADF and LLI sue
Release Date: 2004-12-15
Primary Category: Religious Freedom
ADF Media Relations
480-444-0020
PLANO, Texas—Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the Plano Independent School District for a discriminatory policy that censors the Christmas religious expression of students and their parents.
“The policy is a perfect example of politically correct extremism,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “School officials have gone so far as to prohibit students from wearing red and green at their ‘winter break’ parties because they claim they are Christmas colors. Even the plates and napkins must be white. The district’s policy is ludicrous to even the most common observer.”
In addition to banning Christmas colors, school officials have prohibited students from exchanging candy canes and pencils with religious messages on them, using reindeer symbols, or writing “Merry Christmas” on greeting cards to U.S. soldiers because the phrase might “offend someone.” The district has even applied its policy to parents involved in school activities, barring them from exchanging “religious” Christmas items with other parents.
“The district’s policy is what is offensive. It is offensive to the 96 percent of Americans who celebrate Christmas,” McCaleb said. “If the district truly wants to avoid offending someone, then they will change their incredibly restrictive and unconstitutional policy.”
The lawsuit, Jonathan Morgan, et al., v. the Plano Independent School District, et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public schools must prohibit the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards. They have never ruled that you can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ in the public schools,” McCaleb explained. “These attempts to stifle all religious expression and sanitize Christmas of all religious content are tiring to the overwhelming majority of Texans and all Americans.”
As part of its second annual Christmas Project (www.alliancedefensefund.org/story/?id=529), ADF so far has contacted over 5,000 school districts across the nation explaining the law with regard to the celebration of Christmas in the public schools.
ADF is America’s largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
What shades of red were restricted I wonder? Sounds like policy a liberal mind would hatch.
It's high time to throw the money changers out of the temple.
About d@amn time!
I have been watching the slow erosion of Christian expression but this year, it became an avalanche!
It's okay if school system's have kids dress up as Arabs and read from the Koran but it is so not okay if they even have something green and red in the school over the "Winter break"? Ridiculous.
When did Christians become an endangered species, for Pete's sake? Don't answer that. Rhetorical question.
"What shades of red were restricted I wonder?"
good point -- what about brick?
certainly wouldn't want to ban anything pink or purple, would they? A creative colorist could keep them in real turmoil with this stupid policy.
Even the Soviet Union wasn't this bad?!?
I live in Plano and three of my children have fone K - 12 in the PISD. It is an exceptional system, and has done very well for my children.
What isn't being said here is that there is a large diverse population of people who live in Plano and who use the Plano schools. We have Muslims, we have Wiccans and Pagans, we have non-believers, and we even have one woman who has founded the Church of the Immaculate Contraception. They all have children in the district, and now each and every child is free to distribute his or her tracts during class parties.
Good point! LOL never thought of that. So it was the RED that disturbed them.
Like I said previously on a very busy intersection of Park and Preston, the shopping center there has a beautiful HUGE CHRISTmas tree right on the corner displayed. We enjoy it every year.
Hey....easy on the word Halloween (and the colors),
they might start doing research....
The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
There is a mosque on the corner of Spring Creek ansd Independence with one of those can opener thingees on top, as well, or hadn't you noticed?
I'm afraid that a can of ugly worms has been opened with these people and their suits, and the folks within the district with their taxes are ALL going to demand eual treatment.
I don't want my children exposed to the Wiccans and who kmnows who.
Amen!!!
Oh, and I forgot the B'hais on Hedgecoxe.
Now the DOJ needs to go after the ACLU, the root cause for most of these incredibly stupid and anti-Constitutional actions.
No I haven't noticed any Mosque.
My point is that Plano had not been against CHRISTmas so it shocked me to hear about the red/green thing.
As I said WE ENJOYED the Christmas tree on that corner every year. We have a lot of Christian friends who live in Plano.
Of course you know Plano has become extremely multi-cultural.
Texas Liberals... Just Damn!!!
Plano is extremely multi cultural as I said in my original post. My children went through PISD K - 12, and we have no complaints, none at all. It's hardly "liberal" It's simply a highly competent, professionally run district that has excellent results. My kids each entered college as juniors because of the amount of AP credit they ammassed in the PISD.
I'm afraid , though, with all this ruckus going on about
freedom of expression at Christmas in the schools, that there will be a multitude of unintended consequences. How long will it be before we will have solstice parties and Ramadan feasting? I'm paying property taxes to PISD to educate my children well. period. My children's religious education is MY responsibility. I doubt that there are a lot of Christian parents with kids in PISD that would welcome religious expressions from other religions, but that is what we are going to have now, I'm afraid.
If PISD was smart, they would change their policy to NO classroom celebrations and be done with it.
Going back to 1980, the Plano Independent School District was run by "liberals" in conjunction with their friends in the NEA. I, along with a group of Plano parents, sent Plano IDS curriculum and paperwork to President Reagan's Education Committee that issued the federal report "A Nation At Risk." That should say enough about the Plano schools. It's about time they were investigated. Parents should start reading their children's textbooks and curriculum. Seeing is believing!
Free speech can be an ugly thing.
Far be it from me to preach, but I believe it's our job as parents to make sure our kids understand and see these things for what they are.
When will DOJ investigate the anti-Christian ,unlawful
arrests in Philadelphia --where the Christians are called
"hateful" and preaching the Bible equated with "fighting words"--SO much for city of brotherly love-eh?
Well then, lets not stop there. Cancel the winter (Christmas) break alltogether! Spring break too.
I'm afraid , though, with all this ruckus going on about freedom of expression at Christmas in the schools, that there will be a multitude of unintended consequences. How long will it be before we will have solstice parties and Ramadan feasting?
So we teach the children that freedom of expression is granted by the state and not God.
I'm paying property taxes to PISD to educate my children well. period.
Perhaps you might just want to examine what this totalitarian ban is teaching you children, hmmmmmmm? So we say we can't have freedom of expression at Christmas???? Thats stupid.
Yes, but the schools can never be "neutral" or "areligious" and who would want them to be?! I wouldn't want my child educated in a watered down, censored, and timid school that is afraid of religion or controversial ideas. The only ulimate solution to avoid this is to abolish the public schools or, at least have school choice. Your "let's ban all religion" solution is a recipe for mediocrity and dumbing down to the lowest common denominator.
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