Policies over religion have several Pa. schools threatened with lawsuit

Several local school districts are being asked to rewrite policies in their handbooks that a nonprofit law center says prohibit students from discussing religion, Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE reported.

Fifty-five school districts in Pennsylvania were sent letters claiming their policies violate the constitutional right of students to freely express their religious beliefs, according to TribLIVE. Among them were the Pine-Richland, Hampton, Wilkinsburg, Mt. Lebanon, Oil City, Neshannock, Big Beaver, Avella, Trinity and Slippery Rock school districts.

Independence Law Center is threatening to sue over the policies if they aren’t changed by Feb. 21, TribLIVE reported.

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“Instead of equal treatment, many schools have treated students’ religious speech like dangerous asbestos -- to be cordoned off and eliminated from our schools,” Jeremy Samek, senior legal counsel for Independence Law Center, told TribLIVE.

Last year, Independence Law Center took the Mechanicsburg School District in Cumberland County to court after a club was prohibited from handing out Bibles during lunch periods, TribLIVE reported. The district and center later reached an agreement, which was approved by a federal judge, allowing students to hand out materials, including Bibles.

Colonial-era log cabin found in Pennsylvania during demolition of condemned building Colonial-era log cabin found in Pennsylvania during demolition of condemned building

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