At the Cleveland County School District in Rison, Ark., the district superintendent confirmed to FFRF that the Gideons would no longer distribute bibles to students in classrooms at Rison Elementary School, and that the Gideon representatives would no longer be allowed to speak with students about their mission.
“Courts have uniformly held that the distribution of bibles to students at school is prohibited because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment,” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott. “When a school distributes religious literature to its students, or permits evangelists to do so, it entangles itself with a religious message.”
