LifeWise sues Everett district, alleging First Amendment violations
EVERETT — An off-campus Bible education program sued Everett Public Schools in federal court on Thursday, accusing the school district of violating First Amendment law by implementing a number of policies the program said hinder its constitutional rights.
The program, LifeWise Academy, is an off-campus Bible education nonprofit that operates near Emerson Elementary in Everett. Once a week, volunteers take children out of public school during the school day — at lunch and recess periods — for optional Bible classes. The Supreme Court determined that midday off-campus religious programs like it were legal in a 1952 ruling.
The legal firms representing Ohio-based LifeWise — Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and the conservative nonprofit First Liberty Institute — argued that a number of district actions and policies violated the organization’s rights to free speech and free expression of religion. The actions included:
• Denying a LifeWise request to take part in a community fair and to display flyers on school property
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/lifewise-sues-everett-district-alleging-first-amendment-violations/