FFRF ensured that a teacher in the Shelby County (Ala.) School District will not use its school email to raise funds for personal mission trips.
A concerned Shelby County Schools parent reported that a teacher at Oak Mountain Middle School emailed parents soliciting donations for their Christian summer mission trip. The complainant reported the email was sent through their school email during school hours. The email informed parents that the teacher went on a mission trip to Honduras in 2023 and was seeking financial assistance for a 2024 mission trip.
FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to the district’s legal representative Anne Knox Averitt, who responded via email, informing FFRF that the message was sent without the district’s knowledge. “We spoke with the teacher after receiving your correspondence and [they have] conveyed that [they] will not make such requests through the school’s platform in the future,” she wrote.
