Kentucky County Removes Ten Commandments from Schools Following Complaint

Written by Don Byrd
For years, Breathitt County Schools in Kentucky have displayed the Ten Commandments in classrooms, offices and conference rooms, according to a demand letter sent to the head of schools by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports on the decision to remove them, rather than face a costly legal battle.

Jesus Portrait Case Takes a Twist, Picture Comes Down

Written by Don Byrd
Until yesterday, the Jackson School District in Ohio has refused to remove a portrait of Jesus, which hung first in a middle school , later moved to a high school, despite a church-state lawsuit claming such a depiction should not be displayed in a public school. The school district has resisted using the…creative, let’s call it, argument that the portrait isn’t school speech, but belongs to the student club that first put it up, some 60 years ago.

BJC’s Hollman: Religious Freedom in Public Schools Requires Community Education

Written by Don Byrd
The Baptist Joint Committee’s general Counsel, K. Hollyn Hollman recently participated in a panel discussion in Texas regarding religion in public schools. In the newest issue of Report From the Capital, she reflects on school-related controversies, including the dispute over religious signs held by cheerleaders on the field at the opening of football games in a Texas town.

Ohio School Moves Controversial Jesus Portrait

Written by Don Byrd
A quick update of a story I have been following here at the blog (earlier post here). A portrait depicting Christ hanging in the hall of a Jackson, Ohio middle school and the subject of a church-state lawsuit, has been moved to the high school. The School District’s primary defense is an argument that the portrait is owned by a student club, and therefore not government speech. The only problem? No members of that club are in the middle school where the portrait hangs.