FFRF has ensured that a Florida public school will not continue to distribute bibles to students.
FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel wrote on Sept. 1, 2017, to Richard Shirley, superintendent of Sumter County School District in Bushnell, Fla., regarding an incident which occurred on Oct. 19, 2016, at Bushnell Elementary School. During said incident, outside adults were invited into a fifth-grade gym class, at which time the students were lined up against the wall and presented with bibles.
A Jewish student, who declined the bible, was subjected to severe bullying by her Christian classmates as a result of the incident. Ultimately, the bullying resulted in the student leaving the school. The Sumter County School District’s inability to follow the law caused this young girl and her family serious financial and emotional distress.
On June 19, Shirley responded to FFRF’s complaint, saying the district is “working to be sure any such potential matters are corrected.”
