The Freedom from Religion Foundation, acting on behalf of a complainant, helped make the separation of church and state a reality in the Jackson, Tenn. school district. Proselytizing messages will no longer be a part of the teachers’ biographical sections on schools’ websites in the Jackson-Madison County School System.
FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert contacted Superintendent Thomas White in a July 9, 2012 letter requesting that the religious messages be scrubbed from the schools’ websites. She criticized the teachers’ endorsement and proselytization of the Christian religion on school web pages. Markert cited teacher messages from the website such as, “I see teaching as my ministry and Christian outreach to our community,” as well as direct quotes from the bible. She pointed out these were teachers’ attempts to push religion on a captive audience of public school students.
On Jan. 22, 2013, Markert received word the district has updated its policy to include the line, “District staff will not post quotes from religious texts or post information about their personal religious mission or calling, while on the district network.”
