School Can't Ban Religious Expression

From ABC News, a judge (who has apparently read the U.S. Constitution) ruled that a school district violated a girl's constitutional rights:

According to the family's 2004 lawsuit, Nicole Bloodgood tried three times to get permission for Michaela to pass out the homemade fliers to other students at Nate Perry Elementary School. The flier, about the size of a greeting card, started out: 'Hi! My name is Michaela and I would like to tell you about my life and how Jesus Christ gave me a new one.'

Bloodgood's requests to school officials said that her daughter, now a sixth-grader, would hand them out only during 'non-instructional time,' such as on the bus, before school, lunch, recess and after school.

The lawsuit noted that Michaela had received literature from other students at school, including materials for a YMCA basketball camp, a Syracuse Children's Theater promotion and Camp Fire USA's summer camps.

Liverpool officials said at the time there was 'a substantial probability' that other parents and students might misunderstand and presume the district endorsed the religious statements in the flier, according to the lawsuit.

Nobody seemed concerned that parents might misunderstand and presume the district endorsed basketball or children's theater.

Oh, that's right: there's no constitutional prohibition against promoting basketball or theater like there is promoting personal religious beliefs.

Wait..there's no constitutional prohibition against that, either. There's a constitutional prohibition against "Congress [making a] law respecting an establishment of religion," but Congress didn't make a law respecting an establishment of religion when this girl made her cards, did they?

There is that sneaky little part in the First Amendment about religion and not "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Glad the court got it right this time.