1st Amendment Warning for CO School

It's an issue that just won't go away - religious expression of students in school.

You'll remember the action we took for a New York middle school student who was disciplined for wearing a rosary to school.  We had to go to federal court on that case and ultimately succeeded in protecting the constitutional rights of our client.  And after the court's decision to grant a motion for a temporary restraining order, the school district ended its policy of preventing the wearing of rosaries to school. 

Now, we're focused on a case in Colorado - a middle school where we are defending the constitutional rights of our our 7th grade client, Cainan Gostnell. 

Here's what happened:  About a week ago, Cainan became fearful when he heard an announcement over the school's public address system that all students wearing religious jewelry would either have to conceal it or remove it because some people in school are "offended" by the display. 

Cainan, a Christian, had been wearing a small cross on a chain outside his shirt.  After the announcement in school, he stopped wearing the cross because he feared being punished by the school.

The fact is that he is a good student who does not get into trouble and has worn his cross on a chain outside his shirt without causing any disruption in school.

We have sent a demand letter to the school principal that states:  "Cainan has a First Amendment right to continue to wear his cross on the outside of his clothing in school. Cainan's cross is a form of symbolic speech. He wears it to convey his faith in God and to identify himself as a Christian . . . .Under the law, Cainan has a First Amendment right to wear his cross to school. Preventing him from wearing his cross is a violation of his rights."

Our attorneys who are handling this case are very clear:  Our client should not be punished for his religious expression and speech.

The fact is that schools cannot prohibit students from exercising their constitutional rights of religious expression - whether it's wearing a cross or a rosary.  Cainan's desire to wear a cross outside his shirt is constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. 

We are hopeful that this issue can be resolved amicably without court action. In our demand letter, we're requesting that the school provide the family with "written assurances that Cainan may continue to wear his cross outside his clothing to Mann Middle School without fear of punishment."  We've given the school until October 19th to respond.  You can read our demand letter here.

It's our hope that the school acknowledges our client's constitutional rights and provides us with an assurance that he will not be punished for exercising his religious beliefs.

We will keep you posted.