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AG Paxton Leads 15 States in Filing Amicus Brief to Protect Religious Freedom of Texas Students

 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led a 15 state coalition in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, urging it to uphold the religious freedom of students in the Birdville Independent School District (BISD) on November 3rd.
 
An atheist group is challenging BISD’s policy permitting “student expressions” at the start of school board meetings. Under that policy, which was implemented in March 2015, students have the opportunity to sign up for a random drawing held to determine who will speak at the opening of a meeting. The students are responsible for the message and content of their speeches, and some have chosen to include religious messages in their remarks.
 
“The student expressions permitted by the Birdville ISD policy are the private speech of the students and thus are permissible under the First Amendment,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Students should be taught that they are free to express their deeply held religious beliefs to their elected representatives in public forums without any restriction from the government.”
 
Last August, United States District Judge John McBryde ruled against the American Humanist Association (AHA) in its lawsuit challenging student expressions at BISD board meetings. AHA appealed to the Fifth Circuit.
 
The states joining Texas are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah; the Commonwealth of Kentucky by and through Governor Matthew G. Bevin; and Governor Phil Bryant of the State of Mississippi.
 
A copy of the amicus brief is available here:
 

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