A school district in Washington state is being forced to apologize, fork over $275,000, and attend religious liberty training after forcing students to hide Bibles in concealed envelopes.
School officials in the Everett School District were accused of trying to make it difficult for children to participate in a release-time program on Christianity. The elementary students were forced to hide Bibles in “concealed envelopes,” and parents were forced to repeatedly submit permission slips.
LifeWise Academy provides optional, privately funded Bible education to public school students during school hours. Classes take place off school property and require parental permission.
Following complaints, First Liberty Institute and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of a LifeWise parent and staff member after the district imposed restrictions that singled out the program.
According to the lawsuit, the restrictions included excluding LifeWise from community events and flyer displays, requiring burdensome weekly parental reauthorization, and requiring students to keep materials received at LifeWise, including Bibles, sealed in envelopes in their backpacks.
Additionally, a school board member was openly hostile about the program and “publicly declared animus toward LifeWise Academy” while grossly mischaracterizing the program during a school board meeting.
