Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, Lone Grove Public Schools staff will no longer be distributing bibles to students after FFRF fought to protect students’ First Amendment rights.
A Lone Grove Intermediate School parent reported that on May 13 their child brought a bible home from school. The complainant reported that a teacher distributed bibles to students during class time. The complainant is not Christian and was concerned that the district allowed its teachers to distribute religious materials to students against the wishes of parents.
“When a teacher distributes bibles to students, those children will not reasonably believe that they have a choice to decline taking a bible,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to the district.
District legal counsel Kent B. Rainey responded. “District administrators conducted an investigation, and the following day the district’s superintendent wrote to the parent advising them that receipt of a bible by a student has always been voluntary, and procedures have been modified to ensure that this does not happen in the future.”
