"The actions of the school district were hostile and intimidating to Isaiah."For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
-- Robert Tyler, general counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom
God is NOT Your Idol, Says Tenn. Teacher; Michael Jackson Is
Principals Liable for Stifling Christian Students over Candy Canes
Students Disciplined for Spreading Christmas Cheer (Candy Canes)
Ohio Lawmakers Counter Atheists Suing to Force Jesus Out of Schools
And also read the latest news of the rebellion against Christmas by secularists, including by President Obama.
-- From "Family says boy harassed for passing out Christian candy canes" by UPI 1/7/14
Tyler said the school district must apologize to Isaiah and create a new policy banning bullying or intimidation of students for religious reasons.
Isaiah brought the candy canes to school on Dec. 13. They included printed information saying the candy has a religious inspiration.
"I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today," the text said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Lawyer: West Covina student told ‘Jesus not allowed in school’" by Rebecca Kimitch, Los Angeles Daily News 1/6/14
“It is in the best interest for everyone if the school sets an example of tolerance of differing viewpoints, whether it be on Christmas, about religious subjects, or about cultural issues, that kids in public schools should have a right to hold differing views,” said Robert Tyler, a lawyer for Advocates for Faith and Freedom who is representing Isaiah. “The courts have, multiple times, upheld the rights of students to express themselves to each other.”
. . . UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh said if West Covina Unified chooses to fight, it would likely lose.
“For some reason, schools seem to be laboring under the misconception that they have to, or that they are allowed to, suppress religious speech,” Volokh said. “Schools can’t engage in their own religious speech, but they also can’t suppress the religious speech of others… just as you can’t prevent a pro-environmental message from being distributed on a candy cane.”
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From "Teacher Throws Away 6-Year-Old's Christmas Gift, Tells Him 'Jesus Is Not Allowed in School'" by Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter 1/7/14
Isaiah Martinez, a six-year-old student at Merced Elementary School in West Covina, Calif., arrived to school on Dec. 13, planning to pass out candy canes with religious messages to his fellow students in celebration of the upcoming Christmas season. After the boy's teacher consulted with the school principal, he reportedly told the student that he could not pass out the religious messages because "Jesus is not allowed in school." The boy was still allowed to pass out the candy canes, but the teacher reportedly threw the religious-themed messages in the trash.
"The pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction that public schools are becoming a place of hostility toward Christian and other religiously-based worldviews," Tyler said in a news release discussing Martinez's case. "It's time to push the pendulum back in the right direction where kids can experience true tolerance without religiously motivated hostility from their teachers and school officials."
Tyler added in the statement that his nonprofit group has received a surge of phone calls from parents across the country who say their students are victims of religious bullying, not by fellow students but rather by teachers and school officials.
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