The Mountain View School District administration has addressed a complaint that Gideons passed out bibles to students in the district.
A concerned parent reported that Gideons were allowed into Mountain View Middle School to pass out bibles to students during class. The teacher apparently welcomed the Gideons into the class, thanked them for being there, and took a bible before letting them distribute bibles to students. The complainant reported that their child felt very uncomfortable and felt pressured to take a bible because everyone else in the class did.
FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to Mountain View School District Brent Howard, informing him about the Gideons’ insidious operation, and reminding the district that it is unconstitutional for public school districts to permit the Gideon Society to distribute bibles as part of the public school day. Courts have uniformly held that the distribution of bibles to students at public schools during instructional time is prohibited.
Howard responded to FFRF’s complaint via email with assurances that the situation has been handled.
