Daveen Rae Kurutz @DK_NewsData and @DKreports Feb 10, 2020 at 5:01 PM The Harrisburg-based Independence Law Center ordered 55 Pennsylvania school districts, including the Big Beaver Falls Area School District, to change policies silencing students from speaking about religion or face a lawsuit. BEAVER FALLS — Big Beaver Falls Area School District officials have changed a long-standing policy after threats of a lawsuit from a Harrisburg-based religious liberty-focused law group. The Independence Law Center sent letters to 55 school districts across Pennsylvania ordering officials to change policies they felt violated the Constitution regarding student religious speech. Jeremy Samek, senior counsel for the law center, said Big Beaver Falls‘ policy restricted various types of unprotected speech — pornographic speech, speech that incites violence and speech that indicates one’s religious beliefs are superior to another. That last piece was the problem, Samek said. “This was an effort to put school districts on notice that hadn’t had incidents that they need to remove these policies,” Samek said. “A lot of the time, what happens is there‘s an instance where they’re applying the policy and don‘t realize they’re wrong.” The firm describes itself as a “public-interest law firm” that works with the Pennsylvania […]
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