Student Performances will no longer take place at churches in Oregon (May 20, 2020)

No future Gresham-Barlow School District student performances will take place in the churches.

A concerned district parent reported that the Deep Creek Damascus Middle School choir once again performed at a church that contained graphic religious iconography and required parents to pay the venue in order to see their children perform.

FFRF Legal Fellow Dante Harootunian wrote to Superintendent A. Katrise Perera, informing the district that the use of churches for public school programming is inappropriate and unconstitutional. A schoolā€™s use of a church for school functions is problematic, FFRF points out, because it sends a message of approval of the church to impressionable students.

Executive Director of K-12 Education John Koch informed FFRF that no future performances will take place in churches.

Freedom From Religion Foundation