TRI In The News

Group: Girl OK to Hand Out Fliers

From The Times-Leader
Original article available here.

Northwest Area wrong to stop 9-year-old from distributing material, Va. institute says.

UNION TWP. - A Virginia-based civil liberties organization has stepped into a dispute between a third-grade student and Northwest Area School District.

The Rutherford Institute contends a school principal's decision to prevent the girl from distributing Christian pamphlets in the playground is a denial of her constitutional rights.

Felicia Clark, 9, began distributing Christian tracts the week before President's Day, according to her grandmother Susan Robbins, who has had custody of Felicia for more than eight years.

"My granddaughter wanted to express her religious views, her relationship with Jesus," Robbins said, describing herself and her granddaughter as non-denominational, born-again Christians. "I suggested she take some religious tracts, I had a whole bunch, and said maybe this will help you."

Felicia distributed the fliers outside the school in the playground for about a week, but Robbins said that on Feb. 17 the school principal called and told her Felicia could not continue doing so. Robbins countered that such a ban was a violation of constitutional rights.

"I had paperwork and court cases parents had won because the schools were violating First Amendment rights" with similar bans, Robbins said, adding that the principal was unmoved.

Robbins decided to contact the Rutherford Institute, which sent a letter to the school warning that "right of expression may be limited only if the student's speech substantially interferes with the educational process, threatens serious harm to the school community, encourages unlawful activity, or interferes with the rights of students."

James [sic] Whitehead, an attorney for the institute, said Wednesday that is clearly not the situation in Felicia's case. "She did this on non-instructional time," he said. "To me, it doesn't matter what the message is, court cases are pretty clear. Kids on non-instructional time have the right to free speech."

Whitehead said the institute has handled and won hundreds of similar cases, including one in Pennsylvania, and that if the district does not change its position the institute would be willing to go to court at no cost to Robbins.

"Everything is free of charge," he said. "We help out people who can't get to court otherwise."

All district schools were closed Wednesday due to the weather. Attempts to reach Superintendent Nancy Tkatch failed.