Flashback to the year 2000. Antonio Peck, a kindergarten student in the Baldwinsville, N.Y., school district, handed in a poster about "saving the environment" that included an image of Jesus. The principal decided that the school would hang the poster - but fold Jesus under so he couldn't be seen. Peck's outraged parents sued."
The case is still in litigation. The school's decision to censor a 5-year old is outrageous, but it may well be permissible under the Court's reading of the First Amendment (the school's right to control the curriculum and to protect captive audiences from religious expression). Should the 1A protect Master Peck from this kind of censorship and disrespect? Absolutely, and the whole notion of protecting a "captive audience" from the religious expression of another member of that captive audience is rather silly. But I'll bet that the courts will rule the right way in this case, as they usually do. Ed Brayton
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