Liberty Institute sent a letter Tuesday to Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District (Cy Fair ISD) officials in response to a complaint from the family of a Hamilton Elementary School second grader, whom a teacher allegedly prohibited from reading the Bible during “read to myself” time.
The student and parents, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation or reprisal, say the teacher told the student not to bring the Bible back to school again because it is inappropriate reading material.
In its letter to Cy Fair ISD—the third largest school district in Texas—Liberty Institute explains that the teacher’s alleged censorship of private, student religious expression is illegal and violates the U.S. Constitution, federal guidelines and state law.
“We expect Cy Fair ISD officials to resolve this unfortunate incident quickly and amicably by informing us that they have addressed this matter with District employees, and by assuring us that this will not happen again,” said Michael Berry, Liberty Institute senior counsel.
“More than forty years ago, the Supreme Court famously stated that students do not ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’ That means that second graders have the right to read the Bible during ‘read to myself’ time.”
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