DALLAS (AP) A student organization filed a religious discrimination lawsuit Monday against Plano Independent School District, alleging school officials prohibited the students from posting information about their Bible study group on the district’s Web site.Students Witnessing Absolute Truth (SWAT) claimed in the suit that other officially recognized clubs were allowed to post details on the site, but their noncurricular religious group was denied equal access.
“They were allowed to post their club description on the Web site, then about a week later they were told, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, it’s going to have to come off,'” said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute, which filed the suit on behalf of the group. “Not a whole lot of explanation was given.”
He said school officials told the students that all noncurricular groups’ information would be removed from the site, but the club descriptions for other organizations were left untouched.
A message left with Plano ISD officials was not immediately returned Monday.
The suit, filed in federal district court in Sherman, was the second religious freedom lawsuit filed against Plano ISD by Liberty Legal Institute. The first was filed on behalf of a student who was prohibited from distributing religious-themed gifts, including candy canes. That case remains in litigation.