School Can't Make Up Its Mind

Here's an exercise in contradiction.

DENVER -- The parents of an elementary school student who was told not to distribute invitations asking classmates to join a Bible club sued the school district in federal court Wednesday, claiming their right to religious freedom had been violated.

The lawsuit says the Gilpin County RE-1 School District violated constitutional rights protecting free speech and religion. Robert and Patricia Unruh said the school barred their daughter from distributing the invitations based solely on their religious content.

The suit said Gilpin Elementary School Principal Deb Benitez told the Unruhs she had received several complaints from parents and that the invitations had caused a disturbance.

Superintendent Ken Ladouceur, who like Benitez is named in the lawsuit, said he had not seen the suit and did not know details about the case. But he said principals are authorized to make decisions to avoid disturbances in their schools.

"The principal's responsible for the peaceful environment of the school, so yes, it is the principal's call," Ladouceur said.

The lawsuit also accuses the school of discriminating against Patricia Unruh by repeatedly denying her requests to advertise a summer Bible camp that is separate from the club. Patricia Unruh asked to distribute flyers for students to take home to their parents.

Other groups, such as the Girl Scouts and Little League, are allowed to advertise in such a way, the suit says.

And the contradiction:

The superintendent said that while he doesn't know details of this specific case, district policy would allow flyers for an extracurricular Bible school to be distributed along with material about other activities.

"The policy was crafted to ensure all groups are treated the same way, religious or otherwise," he said.

Huh? Did you catch that? Which is it, Superintendent Dunderhead? Is it allowed, or not? And how is it treating everyone the same way, when you require students who wish to disseminate religious (Christian) material to distribute these items "along with material about other activities," but insist on no such criterion from the Girl Scouts and other groups?

The Unruhs established "God's Girlz" last year as a family-run social group for girls in fifth and sixth grade, the lawsuit says. The club allowed girls to participate in service projects, parties and other events while learning about the Bible.

The summer Bible group and God's Girlz pay rent to meet in a building on school district grounds but are not affiliated with the district, the suit says. The school is in Black Hawk, in the Rockies foothills west of Denver.

The Unruhs say in the lawsuit that their daughter distributed invitations to students before school and during her lunch hour on two days in September. About a week later, Benitez told the Unruhs several parents had complained and said the invitations had caused a disturbance, according to the suit.

How charming! The school district rents a building to the Bible club--a building located on school property--but the child cannot advertise the club's activities at school, on her own time.

Isn't tolerance grand?