Senior Michael Leal sued administrators of Cascade High School in Everett, Washington after they repeatedly suspended him for spreading the Gospel to fellow students. The school responded by designating a single "free speech zone" outside the building, but Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas S. Zilly ruled against the school's ban on Leal's distribution of Bibles and all published Christian literature.
For background, read Student Suspended for Jesus Talk Sues Washington School as well as Washington School Says Homosexual Advocacy is OK, but Pro-life Advocacy is Offensive
Also, click headlines below to read related articles:
Judge Rules Atheists Can't Stop Prayer at Graduations
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And read U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of public prayer, and read the resulting resurgence in public prayer following the Supreme Court decision.
In addition, read the long list of states enacting laws to bring religious liberty back to schools.
-- From "Suspensions revoked for teen who preached at Cascade High School" by Chris Winters, Everett Herald Writer 5/30/15
[Michael Leal] filed suit in November against Everett Public Schools, Superintendent Gary Cohn, Cascade Principal Cathy Woods and two assistant principals, claiming his constitutional right of free speech was being infringed by the school's actions and the district's policies.
The judge tossed out a part of [the new school] policy that requires the printed material to have been written or produced by the student. “The court found that was unconstitutional because he wouldn't be able to pass out the Constitution or Shakespeare,” said Leal's attorney, Kevin Snider of the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit law firm that specializes in religious discrimination cases.
[Judge] Zilly also expunged Leal's three suspensions from his record.
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From "Everett student wrongly punished for preaching, judge rules" by Mike Carter, Seattle Times staff reporter 6/1/15
U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly awarded the student, Michael Leal, token damages of $1 and said his attorneys could collect their costs from the school district. Leal’s attorneys said they also will pursue attorneys’ fees.
The lawsuit, filed last November, had claimed Leal was being punished by the district for expressing his fundamentalist Christian views, in violation of his right to free speech.
Leal is described in the lawsuit as a “young man who is a practitioner of the Christian faith” and who believes in conveying his beliefs to others. Primarily, the lawsuit says, that involves the “distribution of written materials and oral communications to individuals or groups of persons attending [Cascade High School] or its events.”
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Click headlines below to read previous articles:
'Creepy' Pastors Banned from Washington School
Florida Student Failed for Being Christian: Lawyer
Florida Teacher Bans Bible in Free Time, Parents Sue
Atheists, Satanists Force Bible Ban in Florida
Colorado School Bans Jesus Talk During Free Time
Texas Teacher Confiscates Bible from Second-grader
'Bless You' After Sneeze Gets Tennessee Student Suspended
'God Bless America' Banned from Florida School
Arizona Schools Ban Christian Football Coaches
California School Bans Books by Christian Authors
Atheists: Ban Christians from Schools in Michigan, West Virginia, Oklahoma, California, Florida, Ohio, etc.