An American Christian teenager is celebrating a victory over her school which banned her from using any Christian imagery or Bible verses on the design for her personal school carpark which she had paid for.
Grand Island High School senior Sabrina Steffans called in Christian lawyers who pointed out to the school that the ban was unconstitutional because it violated her First Amendment rights to free speech and religious freedom.
The school which is near Niagara Falls in upper New York State then backed down.
Sabrina told CBN News this dispute began off after two of her drawings of what she wanted her parking space to look like, were rejected
SCHOOL’S INITIAL REACTION TO STUDENT’S FIRST DESIGN
“I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain,” the student explained.
It included the phrases, “God is love,” “He loves you,” a cross and John 14:6: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
“When I handed it in, they said completely no to it — because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said that wasn’t allowed.”
The school told her to remove the Bible verse because it considered the words inside the parking spaces to be “government speech.”
WHAT THE SCHOOL’S OWN GUIDELINES SAY
The school’s guidelines only say students cannot include “offensive language, pictures or symbols, negative or rude language, and ‘gang-style’ tagging.”
There’s nothing that says students cannot express their faith.
Sabrina’s second design was just as unsuccessful
It had the words, “Let Your Light Shine”—with the “t” in the word “light” in the shape of a cross.
It also included the phrase, “His will, his way, my life,” and the Bible verse reference, Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
SCHOOL BASICALLY BANNED ALL CHRISTIAN REFERENCES
School staff stipulated she couldn’t make any reference to God or include a Bible verse
Sabrina said: “They finally agreed to the third design, which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”
She said she wasn’t surprised by the pushback from the school because it had previously rejected ads for the school Bible club which she runs.
ALL DESIGNS WELCOME. JUST DON’T MENTION GOD, JESUS OR BIBLE VERSES
Like many seniors, Sabrina had been looking forward to making the most of her final school year which starts on September 4.
The school has a tradition that allows seniors to pay for a parking space and decorate it.
It says it wants to “encourage students to express themselves through positive artwork, to beautify the campus, to build school spirit, and to create a new and exciting tradition to support Senior Class activities and events.”
Just don’t mention God, Jesus and Bible verses or show a cross.
Sabrina was so frustrated by her treatment that she contacted Christian legal advocates First Liberty Institute (FLI).
LAWYERS EXPOSE SCHOOL’S IGNORANCE OF LAW AND CONSTTITUTION
“School officials apparently didn’t show up for their Constitution 101 class,” said FLI.
“Sabrina isn’t colouring outside the lines of what the Constitution allows. Quite the opposite.”
“She has every right to express her faith. What she displays on her parking spot is her private speech.”
“Students don’t give up their First Amendment rights at school.”
LAWYERS SEND DEMAND LETTER TO SCHOOL DISTRICT
“A student’s private religious expression is constitutionally protected even when it occurs on school property.”
“We sent a demand letter to the Grand Island Central School District this week.”
“We clarified what the law and the Constitution say.”
“We made a simple request: Let Sabrina decorate her space with the religious messages and designs that she chooses, just like any other student.”
They also threatened to sue.
SCHOOL DISTRICT BACKS DOWN AND LIFTS BAN
The district caved in and allowed Sabrina to go ahead with her original Salvation Mountain design.
Brian Graham, superintendent of Grand Island Central School District, said: “We take seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment.”
“While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the Board of Education and District leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”
He said the decision provides a balance between upholding the law and avoiding litigation, which would be costly and would distract from the district’s mission.
Graham said school officials will also look at their policies moving forward, to assess the best way to handle such situations.
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