Seventh grader ordered not to read Bible during lunch

A 12-year-old girl in the seventh grade of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Prince George county Maryland was ordered by the vice principle to stop reading the Bible during lunch hour. Lawyers for the Rutherford Institute have gone to court on her behalf. It appears the vice-principle was violating not only the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but also the school's own regulations, which state that students "may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable, non-disruptive activities.” The U.S. Department of Education 2003 guidelines under the No Child Left Behind Act also support this right.

Sources: Washington Post Oct. 3; Sept. 29 press release of the Rutherford Institute. News via the Heretical Librarian.