Florida —
FFRF ensured that students will not encounter religious displays in the Orange County Public School system in Orlando, Fla.
FFRF received notification that an office staff member at Glenridge Middle School was displaying multiple Latin crosses and religious messages on and around her desk, including the wall behind the desk that faced students and passersby. Some of the messages on and around the front office area included references to prayer, being blessed, and a printout of the poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” which directly referenced God and Jesus Christ. FFRF’s complainant provided photographs that showed many of the religious symbols and messages were clearly visible to anyone visiting the front desk, including students.
“Glenridge Middle School’s front office’s religious display needlessly marginalizes those students who are a part of the 49 percent of Generation Z who are religiously unaffiliated,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district.
After FFRF’s letter, the school’s principal spoke with the district’s legal representative, who affirmed FFRF’s letter. “We can require the move of the ‘Footprints’ poem and crosses from displays that can be seen by children from the work area of [the employee],” District General Counsel John C. Palmerini wrote. “The other displays can stay up as they are not overtly religious. The ‘Footprints’ poem and crosses should be moved to only where [the employee] can see them and not students.” FFRF was forwarded the email exchange in which the principal confirmed that they would take care of the situation.
