WICHITA, Kansas — The American Civil Liberties Union has condemned a Kansas elementary school principal for allowing someone from a Christian missionary group to hand out Bibles to students during recess.
ACLU of Kansas officials said Katie Struebing, principal at East Elementary School in Belleville, invited a representative from Gideons International to distribute Bibles at the school in May.
In a letter to Struebing and Belleville school board members, the ACLU of Kansas warned that the principal’s actions violated the First Amendment, which mandates governmental neutrality when it comes to religion.
“By allowing members of Gideon International to distribute Gideon Bibles to students, a public school district was providing a ‘stamp of approval’ upon the Gideon version of the Bible, creating an unconstitutional preference for one religion over another,” wrote Monica Bennett, legal director for ACLU of Kansas.
She said the principal also violated the school district’s own policy, which prohibits employees from promoting religious viewpoints.
“A majority of the American public do not believe it proper for public schools to influence the religious beliefs of school children,” Bennett wrote. “They are uncomfortable with the idea of teachers talking about their religious beliefs in class whether the teacher in question is an evangelical Christian or an atheist.”
The Republic County school district in Belleville is a district of about 500 students in north central Kansas.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Republic County Superintendent Tami Knedler said the district was notified last spring of the incident and “completed a thorough investigation.”
She would not comment on the employees involved or details of the investigation.
“Our district is committed to welcoming all religious viewpoints, not promoting any specific one,” Knedler said in the statement. “We continue to review our practices and policies to ensure they reflect this commitment.”
ACLU officials said they wrote the letter “to remind school officials of their Constitutional obligations, which prohibit them from promoting religious viewpoints within their capacity as school employees.”
The incident marks at least the second time this year that a Kansas public school has invited people to distribute Bibles in classrooms.
In April, employees of the Bluestem school district in Butler County informed parents that they planned to allow Gideon missionaries to hand out Bibles to Bluestem Elementary School students. District officials told parents that their children could opt out of the Gideon visit if they presented signed permission slips.
“After receiving criticism, including from Christian parents, invoking the First Amendment separation of church and state clause, the district walked back the decision,” Bennett wrote of that incident.
In the letter to the Belleville educators, Bennett referenced a 2019 poll that found only 12% of Americans support laws elevating the Bible in public schools.
She also noted a 2021 study by the Survey Center on American Life in which a majority of Americans said they would be uncomfortable with an evangelical Christian teacher sharing their religious beliefs with their students. The same survey also showed declining support for prayer in public schools.
“We hope this letter serves as a reminder of the laws and policies governing the dissemination of religious literature to school children,” Bennett wrote. “Neither you nor other USD 109 staff may impart religious views when serving in the capacity of school district employees.”
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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