ADF files motion to halt policy in “JOHN 3:16” drawing case

MADISON, Wis. — ADF attorneys filed a motion Tuesday asking a federal court to immediately suspend a Wisconsin school district’s unconstitutional prohibition against religious expression while a student’s lawsuit moves forward.  A teacher’s grading policy in the Tomah Area School District bars depictions of “blood, violence, sexual connotations, [or] religious beliefs” in student artwork.

“Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.  “Allowing demonic depictions by some students while prohibiting Christian religious expression in artwork by others is a blatant violation of the Constitution.”

ADF attorneys filed a federal lawsuit March 28 after a student at Tomah High School was told by a teacher to remove or cover up a scriptural reference depicted in a piece of artwork.  The teacher cited a policy students were required to sign at the beginning of the semester which prohibited such depictions and told the student that he had “signed away his First Amendment rights.”  However, students who portrayed demonic illustrations in their work were not confronted about their artwork.

ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.