Written by Don Byrd
Bible distribution, along with other religious materials, will come to an end in Florida’s Orange County schools, following a school board decision yesterday. The change follows a request from a group calling itself the Satanic Temple to allow their controversial coloring books to be distributed to school children as Bibles and other religious materials are allowed.
The Orlando Sentinel reports on the move, and the potential lawsuit in response:
The Liberty Counsel, which is representing World Changers of Florida, the group that gave out the Bibles, has said that stopping groups from giving out religious materials in schools is unconstitutional, and that they intend to sue.
Board members, who said they are on solid legal ground, voted 7-1 to approve a policy based on those in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which allow passive distribution of some materials, but nothing that is religious, political or sectarian.
The Board considered barring distribution all from outside groups but decided to limit the ban to religious and political materials. A lawsuit challenging the decision would likely argue the Board cannot allow certain groups while disallowing religious groups. Stay tuned.
