School Calls Sheriff to Stop 7-Year-Old From Handing Out Bible Verses

   Liberty Counsel has demanded that Desert Rose Elementary School correct an outrageous violation of a first grader’s constitutional rights. The situation started with an encouraging note and Bible verse from mom Christina Zavala, tucked into a packed lunch for her little boy (“C”).  The seven-year-old boy read the note and verse, and showed them to his friends during lunch time at school.

   Mrs. Zavala’s daily note for her son soon turned into an expectation by the other children during lunch, who excitedly begged C for copies of the notes, which grew to include short stories from the Bible to provide context for the verses.

   However, when one little girl said “teacher -- this is the most beautiful story I’ve ever seen,” “separation of church and state” was the response, and the notes were banned from lunchtime distribution.  C was told that the school gate was the only location at which he could give the Bible verses to his friends, and only after the bell rang.

   On April 19, 2016, Mrs. Zavala wrote the school to correct its misinformation, but the only response was  that C was reprimanded again, in front of the whole class, and again told to stop talking about religion or sharing his mother’s notes. C returned home in tears.

   The Zavalas and C complied with the school gate directive, ...