School officials reverse earlier decision; now will run yearbook ad that mentions 'God'Allie Martinwww.OneNewsNow.comMarch 9, 2007
Officials at one California public high school will pay thousands of dollars in printing costs to restore religious references to a yearbook ad after parents complained their rights were violated.
The controversy arose after yearbook staff at Liberty Union High School in Brentwood changed a parent's ad for his son's graduation from "May God bless your life" to "May He bless your life." The parent who placed the ad, Jeff Renner, contacted Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), which sent a letter to school officials demanding that the original ads be reprinted.
PJI president Brad Dacus says the issue has been resolved. "We're not talking about the public school district saying this to that son who's graduating," he explains; "we're talking about parents paying money for the ad to make this expression."
School officials had stated that their policies were consistent with other districts, but Dacus says that should never interfere with constitutional rights of free speech. "Irrespective of their policies or policies in other school districts, the U.S. Constitution trumps any such policies," the attorney says.
Continuing, Dacus says the First Amendment of the Constitution "makes it very clear that school districts cannot engage in anti-religious censorship of private speech that they allow to be included in their materials -- and in this case, in the yearbook.
"School districts and the government must be neutral, not hostile, to religion," the PJI president emphasizes. "That's required by the First Amendment."
The school will now allow religious references in yearbook ads and will pay $8,000 to reprint the ad that was changed.
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