ADF attorney available to media after hearing in Deer Valley student lawsuit
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4474
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY
April 17, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
ADF attorney available to media
after hearing in Deer Valley student lawsuit
Hearing concerns motion for preliminary injunction
against Arizona school district’s unconstitutional policies
WHAT: Answering questions following E.K. v. Deer Valley Unified School District hearing
WHEN: Thursday, April 17, immediately following hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. Ariz. time
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix Division, 401 W. Washington St., Courtroom 603, Phoenix
PHOENIX — ADF attorneys will be available for media interviews following a hearing Thursday in E.K. v. Deer Valley Unified School District. ADF attorneys are asking the court to put a hold on district and school policies used to unconstitutionally restrict the First Amendment rights of Christian students while a student’s lawsuit against the district moves forward.
“Christian students should not be discriminated against because of their beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who will argue before the court Thursday. “They do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”
“Public schools cannot deny students with Christian viewpoints the same rights freely extended to those with non-religious beliefs,” added ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman, who will also be available for interviews with the media following the hearing.
School officials at Mountain Ridge High School unconstitutionally prohibited Christian students in the Common Cause club from announcing a prayer meeting over the PA system because the announcement contained the word “prayer.” The assistant principal tore up the invitation and threw it away when a student asked for it back.
The school also prohibited the club from distributing flyers during non-instructional time because they contained a religious symbol (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4409).
A fact sheet is available on the lawsuit at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/EKFactSheet.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.