Christmas Victory

By 

Jay Sekulow

|
June 25, 2011

3 min read

American Heritage

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ACLJ: School Assignment: Prepare a Christmas Ornament Without a Christmas ReferenceWe just received word from the Middle Country Central School Districts attorneys that Zacharys ornament is being placed on the Christmas tree today.  Our ACLJ lawyers went to work on this situation (described below) the latter part of last week, and we are pleased that it has been quickly resolved.

 

School Assignment:  Prepare a Christmas Ornament Without a Christmas Reference

 

Some of the issues surrounding the Christmas holiday in the schools borders on the absurd.  This is certainly the case for students at Unity Drive Elementary School in New York.  Zachary is a student at Unity Drive Elementary and was given an assignment by his teacher to decorate a Christmas ornament that would be displayed in the school.  In fact, the exact note sent home to the parents read:  Heres a Christmas ornament please have your child decorate it and have it back by Wednesday.  The school even provided the paper and encouraged parental participation.  Using the materials given, Zachary chose to decorate his ornament with a cross symbol.   At the top of the ornament, he wrote The Reason for the Season; and at the bottom, he put the name Jesus. 

 

The next morning, Zachary brought his ornament to school, but the teacher refused to display it, commenting that my director says this is too religious and it cannot be put up.  The other childrens ornaments are displayed in a hallway, on a paper Christmas tree, just outside the classroom door.  Zacharys parents contacted us when they were unable to have the situation resolved.  Interestingly, the school sent home another Christmas ornament for Zachary to decorate; again, refusing to allow any religious statement to be included.

 

The New York Department of Education has issued guidelines that also border on the absurd.  In reminding its school officials that they are part of a multicultural community, educators are encouraged to respect the many different beliefs and customs stemming from our communitys religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage.  In and of itself, that makes sense; however, the regulations at issue specifically address religious symbolism during the Christmas season.  The New York State Board of Educations  policy actually says: 

 

            The display of holiday symbol decorations with secular dimensions is permitted.  Displays that depict images of deities, other religious figures, or religious text are prohibited.  Permitted symbols include, but are not limited to, Christmas trees, kinaras, dreidels, menorahs, and the star and crescent.

 

What, of course, is missing here is a nativity scene, which is the primary symbol of the Christmas holiday.  The School District in Zacharys case is engaging in religious discrimination.  School officials claiming that Zacharys speech/ornament is inappropriate because it is too religious amounts to unconstitutional, viewpoint-based discrimination.  We placed this School District on notice that students like Zachary do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. 

 

Just two years ago, I argued a case at the Supreme Court of the United States involving students participation in political activities.  The Court was unanimous in recognizing, once again, the vast free speech rights that students have.  What the School District is doing in New York is unconstitutional.  When asked to decorate a Christmas ornament, Zachary chose the symbol that represented Christmas to him.  Zacharys ornament is constitutionally protected speech regarding the celebration of Christmas and is the precise topic that was assigned to him by the teacher.  It is the School District that needs a lesson in the First Amendment a lesson they are getting right now.