Teh One Who Knocks
02-11-2015, 12:04 PM
By Lauren Roth - Orlando Sentinel
Orange County students will no longer face the possibility of being offered Satanic coloring books or Bibles between classes under a new policy adopted by the School Board on Tuesday night.
The board has been considering such a change since a group called The Satanic Temple asked last fall for permission to distribute a Satanic coloring book and two fact sheets to Orange students.
But most of the debate Tuesday was over whether the board should ban just religious materials — or those from all outside groups.
"That would be an injustice to groups that provide great programs to our students," said board chair Bill Sublette, citing Little League, football teams, the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs as examples. "Some things are worth fighting for."
Most of the speakers Tuesday encouraged the board to insulate itself against lawsuits by banning all outside materials.
"It is not the School Board's job to promote religion of any kind," said Warren Geltch of Orlando.
A few others, including Conway Middle School seventh-grader Rhiannon Dodson, urged the board to leave the policy as is to encourage an exchange of ideas.
"Don't bar kids from learning and growing," she said. Nothing in the policy would prevent a teacher from using the Bible or other religious materials as historical documents in a class.
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.
For three years, the district allowed Bibles to be distributed to students in schools based on a court decision that required a similar giveaway in Collier County schools.
The district also ended up letting in materials provided by an atheist group, the Central Florida Freethought Community, that sued in an attempt to stop the Bible giveaways.
But after the request from The Satanic Temple, the district cut off all religious-material distribution, pending a possible policy change.
After Tuesday's decision, the organizer of the local Satanic Temple chapter said she was disappointed that it took her group's request to prompt action.
Other than Christian groups, "they'd rather not have any other groups distribute materials," said the organizer, who goes by the name Tabitha Burns out of concerns for her safety. "The message we're putting forward is tolerance and personal liberty," she said.
David Williamson, with the Central Florida Freethought Community, said the decision is a "victory for Orange County students" — if religious-materials giveaways do not return to schools.
The board also Tuesday adopted a resolution asking the governor to delay school and district grades, as well as hold students and teachers harmless for scores on this year's new state tests.
The resolution asks for the accountability system to be fully funded, to minimize the number of tests student have to take and to ensure the tests they do take are grade-appropriate.
Orange County students will no longer face the possibility of being offered Satanic coloring books or Bibles between classes under a new policy adopted by the School Board on Tuesday night.
The board has been considering such a change since a group called The Satanic Temple asked last fall for permission to distribute a Satanic coloring book and two fact sheets to Orange students.
But most of the debate Tuesday was over whether the board should ban just religious materials — or those from all outside groups.
"That would be an injustice to groups that provide great programs to our students," said board chair Bill Sublette, citing Little League, football teams, the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs as examples. "Some things are worth fighting for."
Most of the speakers Tuesday encouraged the board to insulate itself against lawsuits by banning all outside materials.
"It is not the School Board's job to promote religion of any kind," said Warren Geltch of Orlando.
A few others, including Conway Middle School seventh-grader Rhiannon Dodson, urged the board to leave the policy as is to encourage an exchange of ideas.
"Don't bar kids from learning and growing," she said. Nothing in the policy would prevent a teacher from using the Bible or other religious materials as historical documents in a class.
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.
For three years, the district allowed Bibles to be distributed to students in schools based on a court decision that required a similar giveaway in Collier County schools.
The district also ended up letting in materials provided by an atheist group, the Central Florida Freethought Community, that sued in an attempt to stop the Bible giveaways.
But after the request from The Satanic Temple, the district cut off all religious-material distribution, pending a possible policy change.
After Tuesday's decision, the organizer of the local Satanic Temple chapter said she was disappointed that it took her group's request to prompt action.
Other than Christian groups, "they'd rather not have any other groups distribute materials," said the organizer, who goes by the name Tabitha Burns out of concerns for her safety. "The message we're putting forward is tolerance and personal liberty," she said.
David Williamson, with the Central Florida Freethought Community, said the decision is a "victory for Orange County students" — if religious-materials giveaways do not return to schools.
The board also Tuesday adopted a resolution asking the governor to delay school and district grades, as well as hold students and teachers harmless for scores on this year's new state tests.
The resolution asks for the accountability system to be fully funded, to minimize the number of tests student have to take and to ensure the tests they do take are grade-appropriate.