Washington Examiner - End urged to Pa. ban on teachers' religious garb

By The Associated Press, WashingtonExaminer.com

Two state lawmakers are proposing to change a section of Pennsylvania law that bars public school teachers from wearing religious symbols in the classroom.

State Reps. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, and Will Tallman, R-Adams County, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that only Pennsylvania and Nebraska still have such bans. . . .

In 2003, teacher's aide Brenda Nichol was told by Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit 28 that she could not wear a cross necklace. . . .

"I think it's important to be able to have freedom of expression," she said. "In our country, that's one of the fundamental rights."

Attorney Geoffrey Surtees of the American Center for Law and Justice, a constitutional law and religious liberties group that represented Nichol, echoed that view.

"These laws were needless when they were enacted, and they're needless now. In fact, they're worse than needless: They're unconstitutional," Surtees said. . . .

You can read the entire story here.