PALMDALE, Calif. – Palmdale’s Desert Rose Elementary School faces potential litigation after school officials dispatched a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy to the home of a 7-year-old for sharing Bible verses during non-class time.
The Liberty Council, a religious liberties and education nonprofit law firm, recently sent a letter to school officials outlining “an outrageous violation of a first grader’s constitutional rights” stemming from Bible verses his mother, Christina Zavala, packed with the boy’s lunch.
The 7-year-old shared the daily Bible verses with his classmates, and many interested students requested their own copies, which Zavala happily provided along with short Bible stories for context, the Santa Monica Observer reports.
“However, when one little girl said ‘teacher – this is the most beautiful story I’ve ever seen,’ ‘separation of church and state’ was the response, and the notes were banned from lunchtime distribution,” according to the Liberty Council. The student, identified as “C,” “was told that the school gate was the only location at which he could give the Bible verses to his friends, and only after the bell rang.”
Zavala wrote school officials April 19 to protest the decision. She contends her son was called in front of the class and reprimanded – ordered to cease discussions about religion – in retaliation.
Regardless, C complied with the school directive and distributed the daily Bible verses to his friends outside of the school gate. School officials were apparently not satisfied, and principal Melanie Pagliaro approached the student’s father outside of the school May 9. The Liberty Council contends Pagliaro ordered the boy to move off of school property for the daily ritual, which continued to attract more of his classmates.
More here
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
what a great inspiration this child is! God Bless him, and his parents for raising such a wonderful child.
ReplyDeletePoor boy is really being brainwashed by the parents. They should be charged with abuse.
ReplyDeleteSue the Progressive Nazi's.
ReplyDelete1:21
ReplyDeleteYou're an idiot. We have seen how your way has ended us in world full of crap. Since you don't believe in the teachings in the bible I guess you are ok with people killing others and stealing. Let me guess you voted for Obama.
1:21 is a troll. Do not respond to his comment.
ReplyDeleteConservative Atheist said...
ReplyDeleteI don't see a problem here. The school is not initiating this, and the child is doing this on his free lunch period. They should leave him alone, unless it's causing a disturbance, which it doesn't seem like it is, and I think a few people have blown this way out of proportion.
This incident shows several factors contributing to today's chaotic society.
ReplyDelete1. The schools have no business interfering with legitimate actions of children with their peers.
2. That they felt the need to demand action from the authorities shows they, a. lack the courage of their convictions, and, b. are totally spineless when it comes to enforcement, and, c. they are incapable of discerning right from wrong.
3. The type of situations they use to show they are in control to excuse their inability to teach.
All this evidences an out of control school society that has driven education levels to all time lows compared to the rest of the world. Where other countries graduate high school students with far more knowledge than our college seniors, our colleges must offer remedial math and English. Forget things like philosophy and logic.
You have to sue these people and take their money that's all they know.
ReplyDeleteThe first ammendmant says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". It doesn't say that people are not allowed to practice their religion anywhere. This is how Muslims end up with prayer rooms. Likewise, people are free to share verses bible or torah, or whatever the Flying Spaghetti Monster book happens to be.
ReplyDelete"Separation of church and state" is a doctrine that only obligates the state!
It was kind of ridiculous to involve the police department. If a child is acting inappropriately, touching himself at the lunch table or in class, the staff can take him aside privately and gently explain that certain behaviors, although we don't condemn them, are not appropriate in certain settings.
ReplyDeleteSame thing with the kid bible thumping.
Once again 329 is correct the state cannot impose religion it says nothing about us practicing it!! And you Can do it on public land DUH... IT makes no freaking difference.
ReplyDeleteIf it was Islamic propaganda, the kid reciting verses the Koran, I would certainly hope they nipped it in the bud.
ReplyDelete1:21 is correct, a kid that young should be more into Sesame street or power rangers, not the Bible. His parents probably don't even have him vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteSo she gets the cops called to her HOME for reading from the Bible, but if a boy follows her into the restroom she can't say anything or she's a bigot.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that our government is intentionally ruining public education system. You can't accidently f up this bad.
I can hardly believe this happened !!
ReplyDelete