A teenager who fought back after her public school wouldn’t allow her to place a Bible verse on her paid parking space has won her battle.
“Sabrina Steffans will proceed with her original design that was previously rejected by the school because of its religious references,” First Liberty Institute, a religious liberty law firm, said in a statement.
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Days after being threatened with litigation, the Grand Island Central School District near Buffalo, New York, decided to reverse course and allow the incoming high school senior to choose a religious design for her space, as the “school’s tradition allows seniors, for a fee, to ‘express themselves’ by decorating their parking space.’”
Steffens told CBN News this week that the potential legal showdown kicked off after two of her drawings of what the space would look like were rejected before a third was eventually allowed.
“I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain,” Steffens said. “And when I handed it in, they said … completely no to it because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said that wasn’t allowed.”
She continued,” They finally agreed to … the last one, which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”
The incoming high school senior said she wasn’t surprised by the first denial, as she runs the school’s Bible club and purports to have experienced times when the school turned down ads from her club.
Steffens had ignored the previous issues, but after getting frustrated by the parking space situation, she connected with First Liberty Institute and the firm sent a letter to the district.
Keisha Russell, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, previously told CBN News they would sue if the Grand Island Central School District didn’t relent. However, Russell and her client are content with the school’s decision to allow Steffans to proceed.
“We are pleased that the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” Russell said. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”
Brian Graham, superintendent of Grand Island Central School District, issued a statement to CBN News explaining the district’s stance and its commitment to “fostering an inclusive school environment that respects the rights and dignity of all students.”
“We also take seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment,” Graham wrote. “While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the Board of Education and District leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”
He said the decision provides a balance between upholding the law and avoiding litigation, which would be costly and would distract from the district’s mission. Graham said school officials will also look at their policies moving forward to assess the best way to handle such situations.
“We will take time in the coming months to review the future of the senior parking space program and will consider whether adjustments to guidelines or practices are warranted to better reflect our goals as a public-school community,” Graham said.
Read more about the backstory here.
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