Despite our friendly debate on evolution vs intelligent design I found an interesting article covered on a young girl ‘caught’ reading her Bible.
The Prince George’s County school administration hasn’t responded to this suit yet, but if the facts are as the plaintiff argues, this young girl’s rights have definetely been violated. From ‘Bible-Reading Student Gets Lesson in Litigation’:
..Mangum said her daughter was reading her Bible on Sept. 14 when Vice Principal Jeanetta Rainey approached. According to Mangum and the lawsuit, Rainey told Amber that reading the Bible violated school policy and that she would face discipline if she continued to do so…
The same article references this statment:
John White, a spokesman for the school system, said administrators learned of the lawsuit Friday and were not prepared to comment on its claims. “We’re just beginning to look into it,” he said.
I agree that this should be a rather easy thing to settle. Porkopolis nails it on the head. Schools are not Bible free zones and should not be sterilized.
An individual reading a Bible on her own personal time is not the same thing as the school sponsored Bible reading addressed in Abington vs. Schempp. In fact, the Supreme Court has already established (GOOD NEWS CLUB et al. v. MILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL) that public schools are note Bible-free zones.
Let’s hope this is just a misunderstanding and not the over zealousness of a school administrator.
While one might hope that it isn’t really intentional it probably is. While the ‘official’ response is that ‘as long as it isn’t disruptive’ we know how dangerous the Bible can be viewed. The father of the girl reports that she was threatened if she continued. That seems very possible where a young girl can be intimidated into compliance.
Mangum said her daughter was reading her Bible on Sept. 14 when Vice Principal Jeanetta Rainey approached. According to Mangum and the lawsuit, Rainey told Amber that reading the Bible violated school policy and that she would face discipline if she continued to do so.
I can’t imagine a board of education being any dumber on this topic and expect them to allow the girl to read the Bible on her own time. But then again….
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