FILE PHOTO: A man holds a bible during service at Christ United Church in Cypress, Texas.
David J. Phillip / The Associated Press
Central Pa. school district accused of banning Bibles says legal group is misleading public
"We welcome and encourage students with all backgrounds and religious views to express themselves.”
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Ivey DeJesus/PennLive
David J. Phillip / The Associated Press
FILE PHOTO: A man holds a bible during service at Christ United Church in Cypress, Texas.
(Mechanicsburg) — A central Pennsylvania school district that has been accused of banning students from handing out Bibles said the legal group backing the students is misrepresenting the situation.
In a written statement, the Mechanicsburg Area School District on Tuesday said it does not ban religious materials from its campuses, and charged the Independence Law Center with issuing inaccurate allegations. The issue stems from a November incident in which the district denied permission to students seeking to distribute Bibles during the lunch period.
The issue was discussed at a school board meeting last night.
The pro-bono legal group last week accused the district of banning students from distributing the religious materials, and ordered it to rescind the ban.
“There is not a ban on the Bible, Torah or the Koran or any other religious material at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School,” district officials said in a written statement. “Students are always permitted to bring, read, share and discuss the Bible at school. We welcome and encourage students with all backgrounds and religious views to express themselves.”
The district pointed out, however, that it has rules in place that must be followed by students or student groups wishing to distribute any material to other students during the instructional day, inclusive of lunch.
“These rules are established to respect the rights of all students, create a sense of belonging in the school, and ensure there are not disruptions to the school day,” the school district stated.
In November, members of the Christians in Action Student Club at Mechanicsburg Area High School had attempted to hand out Bibles during the lunch period, but were ordered by administrators to stop.
The students argue that the district violated their constitutional rights.
The school district said the student group failed to submit a formal request for distribution of Bibles, and the ILC never contacted the building administration to discuss the issue.
“Instead of submitting a request and working with the high school administration in a collaborative manner, the ILC’s approach has evoked negative emotions that divide our school and community,” district administrators said in the statement. “We would gladly engage in a conversation that instead takes the time to consider what is best and inclusive for all students and respects the wishes of many parents in our school community. It is our sincere hope to resolve this issue with facts.”
The Independence Law Center on Tuesday fired back at the school district’s charges regarding their representation of the issue.
In a written statement to PennLive the pro-bono legal group reiterated that high school principal David Harris had denied the students permission to share the Bibles.
“Not only did Principal Harris tell these students that they were ‘not permitted to handout Bibles during the school day’ but he also ordered that they not even hand out Bibles outside of the school day unless they were granted permission first from the school,’” the group noted.
Additionally, the group noted in its statement the response Harris gave to the student club advisor back in November: “Please inform him that he is not permitted to handout Bibles during the school day.Like other literature if he would like to request to distribute them outside of the school day, he may submit a request which will be reviewed in accordance with district policy and case law. At that time, a decision will be rendered.In addition to relevant case law, district policy #220 provides some guidelines. Please feel free to share this with [the student] or to review it with him as you see fit.”
The ILC claims that students went through the process of formally requesting permission, and that Harris wrote a response to that request.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
