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ACLJ nudges school in right direction

ACLJ nudges school in right direction


ACLJ nudges school in right direction

Students at an elementary school in Georgia have won what their attorneys call a major victory for First Amendment rights.

The day before Good Friday, two nine-year-old students were told they could not share the plastic Easter eggs they had prepared containing jelly beans, a poem about the colors of the jelly beans, and Bible verses about the meaning of Easter.

American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) got involved and was about to file a lawsuit, when attorney Benjamin Sisney says the school admitted it was wrong and promised not to let it happen again.

Sisney, Benjamin (ACLJ) Sisney

"It's a shame that you even have to take or threaten legal action to get these kinds of obvious right answers, but we have to do that, as evidenced by this case," says Sisney. "In this case, we were fortunately able to work it out before we had to actually file the lawsuit."

ACLJ was initially told that the school did not allow students to hand out candy. But as there were multiple instances where other kids were allowed to distribute sweets, Sisney thinks administrators realized they were out of excuses.

The attorney adds that things like this are happening at other schools across the country, and not just in blue states.

"This was in Georgia," notes Sisney. "If it can happen in Georgia, it can happen anywhere."

ACLJ is not naming the school because administrators ultimately chose to recognize the kids' constitutional rights to distribute religious materials.