A field trip to a church-run pumpkin patch will not reoccur at Randolph Elementary in Centreville, Ala. Kindergartners and first graders were given nametags reading, “Hay there, Jesus loves you” with a bible verse underneath.
Students’ finger paintings also had bible verses printed at the top. The students posed for a photo beneath two large signs with bible verses on them.
Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote the district Nov. 24: “It excludes non-Christian and nonreligious students for a public school to schedule a trip to this type of sectarian establishment.”
On Jan. 23, the superintendent of Bibb County Schools responded that this was the school’s first visit to the pumpkin patch, admitting it had not been properly vetted. She said the district would not send students there in the future.
