FFRF worked to remove multiple religious violations, including religious instruction to children, from the West Carroll Parish Schools system in Oak Grove, La.
A student’s parent reported that on Dec. 19, 2023, their child returned home from Oak Grove Elementary School with several overtly Christian assignments from the kindergarten teacher. The assignments explicitly referenced the Christian god, Jesus Christ and the Christian nativity story. One coloring page required kindergarteners to color a Christian nativity scene depicting the biblical story of the birth of Jesus. The same teacher also showed the class a religious film about Jesus Christ, while a Pre-K teacher led a class of four-year-old children in an explicitly Christian prayer before the students were allowed to eat. Finally, the superintendent had a quotation referencing God on his district profile. The quotation, “Success is not measured by what you do compared to what others do; it is measured by what you do with the ability God gave you” was directly under his official headshot.
After FFRF Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district, the superintendent reported to FFRF that he had requested the quote be removed from his page. “I honestly think it was left there from the previous superintendent. I do not remember providing that quote and typically include meaningful quotes from others in my letters and emails and letters,” he wrote. Additionally, he promised to meet with the principal and teachers at Oak Grove Elementary the following week to discuss the concerns. In July, FFRF confirmed that the meeting took place with the school and the employees.
