Attorneys representing a middle school student in Washington state say school officials improperly disciplined the girl for distributing Gospel tracts to classmates.
According to the American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing the student, the incident took place on or about Feb. 18 at a public middle school in an unnamed district.
The legal group alleges that a vice principal entered the classroom after learning about the distribution of the tracts, removed the student and told her she was not allowed to share religious materials on campus.
The student had reportedly been handing out tracts obtained from the Gospel House Tract Society during lunch and break periods, asking classmates for permission before doing so.
In response to the administrator’s directive, the student questioned why other students were allowed to express their views while she was not permitted to share her faith.
According to the ACLJ’s March 20 demand letter, the vice principal responded: “Students may share opinions, but they may not share religious beliefs.”
Attorneys further allege the administrator pointed to the school’s policy of allowing students to leave campus to participate in protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as an example of acceptable expression, while maintaining that distributing religious literature was prohibited.
During the same interaction, the student also asked about forming a Christian student club but was told it would require a teacher sponsor — a claim the ACLJ disputes.
The attorneys argue that the school’s actions violate the student’s constitutional rights.
“The prohibition against the mere discussion of God or the giving of an item displaying a religious reference to a friend and classmate blatantly interferes with [her] First Amendment rights as a student,” wrote ACLJ attorneys Nathan Moelker and Christina Compagnone.
In their letter, the attorneys cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), which held that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
The ACLJ also noted that this is not the first dispute involving the student and the same district.
In 2019, when the student was in second grade, school officials reportedly conducted routine backpack searches to confiscate Christian tracts, treating them as prohibited items.
The organization said it intervened at that time, leading to a demand letter and ultimately a formal agreement in 2022 affirming that the school district must remain neutral toward religion and may not discriminate against religious viewpoints.
That agreement also recognized the student’s right to distribute materials on campus, including religious literature, according to the ACLJ.
