Thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, members of the Gideon organization will no longer be allowed in Robertson County (Tenn.) Schools.
After FFRF received a complaint from a distressed parent whose child was ostracized for not taking a bible, FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert sent a letter to Director of Schools Daniel Whitlow. “Courts have uniformly held that the distribution of bibles to students at public schools during instructional time is prohibited,” Markert informed Whitlow in the Nov. 19, 2012 letter. “Public schools have a constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion and to protect the rights of conscience of young and impressionable students.”
Whitlow responded on Jan. 8, 2013, informing FFRF that all administrators had been notified that bible distribution was against district procedures.