On Nov. 4, 2011, members of Gideons International were permitted to enter Liberty Eylau Middle School in Texarkana, Texas to distribute bibles to fifth grade students during the lunch period.
After being contacted by a concerned parent, FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott wrote a Nov. 11 letter to Superintendent Nick Blain, informing him that allowing Gideons International to distribute bibles inside of a public school is a violation of the Constitution.
In a Nov. 22 letter of response, Liberty-Eylau Independent School District’s attorney told FFRF that the district had already stopped the distribution of “unauthorized materials on its school campuses.” The attorney also told FFRF, “If you receive information that there have been some unauthorized distribution of bibles at any of the Liberty-Eylau school campuses please contact me immediately.”
