Atheists sink voluntary anti-bullying, anti-drugs education program in Texas schools
District’s capitulation, targeted exclusion of people of faith constitutionally problematic
Attorney sound bites: Jeremy Tedesco | Rory Gray
AZLE, Texas – Alliance Defending Freedom sent Azle Independent School District a letter Tuesday after it canceled a voluntary anti-bullying, anti-drugs, and character-building education program upon receiving a complaint from an atheist group. Freedom From Religion Foundation complained that the presenters of “Seven At Schools” belong to a Christian ministry.“Public schools should be commended for offering character-building education programs to students, not intimated into engaging in unconstitutional discrimination,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Freedom From Religion Foundation is incorrect that neutrality toward religion requires schools to discriminate against beneficial programs simply because they are presented by Christians. That is not neutrality but targeted religious discrimination forbidden by the First Amendment.”
“By advocating for the exclusion of people of faith from public life and – in particular – any participation in public schools, FFRF demonstrates that its demands are not based on law but on a blatant hostility to religion that directly conflicts with the First Amendment’s protection of religious free exercise,” the ADF letter explains. “Canceling the Seven At Schools assembly based on the presenters’ religious identity clearly violated the Constitution, as well as the principles of individual liberty it was designed to protect.”
“The District has taken no actions that promote religion,” the letter continues. “It simply planned to offer the Seven At Schools assembly as an optional opportunity for students to receive anti-bullying, anti-drugs, and character-building training. This program furthered the District’s curriculum and was only available to students whose parents had consented to their attendance.”
“It’s shameful for groups like Freedom From Religion Foundation to attack educational programs that provide children with character-building lessons,” added ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Rory Gray. “We hope Azle Independent School District will reconsider its decision and stand up to the illegitimate demands made by secularist groups who distort the meaning of the First Amendment.”
- Pronunciation guide: Tedesco (Tuh-DESS’-koh)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT Rory Gray
Rory Gray, Esq., serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a strategic role on the Appellate Advocacy Team. Since joining ADF in 2011, Gray has worked diligently on key cases to preserve religious freedom and free speech in America. He has served as a member of the main litigation teams in Thomas More Law Center v. Bonta, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission,Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer,Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, and Reed v. Town of Gilbert. Additionally, Gray has written briefs at all levels of federal and state courts, including an amicus brief in Newdow v. Congress of the United States, in which the Second Circuit upheld the use of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on U.S. currency. Gray earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law, graduating magna cum laude in 2007. Before graduating, he completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow in 2005. After law school, Gray clerked for the Hon. Bobby R. Baldock on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit from 2007-2009 and for the Hon. G. Steven Agee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit from 2009-2011. A member of the state bars of Georgia, Arizona, and Virginia, Gray is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and various appellate and trial courts.