Tag Archives: ADF: Matt Sharp

L. Brent Bozell III at The Journal: Lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit May 3. “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all students, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”

L. Brent Bozell at the Patriot Post: Lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit on May 3. “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all students, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”

Matt Sharp at Alliance Defending Freedom: I’m often surprised by the number of school administrators under the mistaken belief that the First Amendment has an age limit. They think that while a kid is in elementary or middle school, they can stop them from expressing their views and that kids have to wait until high school to have constitutional rights.

One News Now: ADF attorney Matt Sharp is representing the sixth-grader who was prevented from handing out the pro-life flyers during non-instructional time. “They were not even just trying to prohibit it during the school day, but even before and after school,” he explains. “So if they’re standing out on the sidewalk on school grounds, they would be prohibited from doing it. Again, that’s far too great a restriction [and] something the courts have never permitted at any school.” [more]

Marshall Independent (AP): “Unless there is a material disruption, students have the absolute right to distribute materials at school,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with the organization. “There was no evidence of disruption at the school at all.”

LifeNews: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “The law on this is extremely clear: free speech cannot be censored simply because it expresses a certain viewpoint that administrators don’t favor. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all students, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”

Matt Sharp at Alliance Defending Freedom: We often underestimate children. We think they understand less than they do and that they are incapable of having their own thoughts or views. Schools often make the same mistake and use a child’s age to justify restrictions on their speech. We have been involved in numerous cases where schools restricted young students from handing out invitations to church events or sharing their faith at school.

Matt Sharp on IQ 106.9 Philadelphia with Lionel and Michelle Murillo to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 5:57 mins

Leonard Blair at Christian Post: In an interview with The Christian Post on Wednesday, Matt Sharp, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz. which represented K.A. and her family, said they were happy with the ruling.
“We were very pleased with the court’s ruling in this. For several years there has been a move in the courts to respect the first amendment rights of students in particular, particularly younger students in elementary and middle school to share their faith at school,” he said.
“What this opens up is not just an invitation to a Christmas party but to any other religious event. It opens the door for K.A. to distribute any religious materials whether it’s an invitation to a church event or something else. As long as it’s done in a manner that doesn’t create a material disruption in school,” added Sharp.

One News Now: The state, in its appeal of Kelley’s ruling, is asking the state’s highest court to find the voucher program constitutional “in all respects.” Matt Sharp, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, tells American Family News his firm now has joined sides with the state in defending the program in court. “ADF wrote an amicus brief – a friend of the court brief – to the Louisiana Supreme Court arguing that in addition to the source of funding arguments made by the state, we also think that there’s important liberty interests here of parents,” he explains.

Matt Sharp appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Atheists Still Not Gleeful About Christmas. | MP3 audio 17:41 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Vicki McKenna Show to discuss this: Montana school accused of bullying for including Christmas carols in school performance. | MP3 audio 11:42 mins

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom’s Matt Sharp points out that God is being left out as a solution in the debates about what to do to protect children in schools from another massacre like the one in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th. But that, he says, is exactly the opposite of what this country needs. “We really need to call out for everyone to kind of return to God in times like this, to realize that He is the true source of our strength, our source that descends through so many scriptures — from the psalmist about God is our refuge and the cleft in the rock that hides us in times like this Psalm 18:2; 46:1),” the legal counsel cites.

World Magazine: Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom said, “Courts have responded in favor of schools playing Christmas music, as long as it serves an overall educational purpose.” Candi Cushman, an education analyst with CitizenLink, which is associated with Focus on the Family, said, “From what we’ve seen, the school appears to have chosen a perfectly reasonable, balanced mix of songs like ‘Up on a House Top’ and ‘Joy to the World’ and has correctly emphasized that the musical program serves an educational purpose, reflecting long-standing, nationwide traditions.” I can respect the fact that Christmas songs might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is bullying, then no public expression of Christianity, no matter how banal and innocuous, is safe from censure.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: “For them to include traditional religious Christmas carols is perfectly constitutional,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. “The courts have clearly held that it’s constitutional for schools to include traditional religious carols as part of a secular educational music program.” The ADF said they sent a letter to the Missoula, Mont. School district advising them of their rights under the law and offered to give them legal support in the event of a lawsuit.

Matt Sharp appeared on KNRS with Patrick Wiscombe to discuss this: ‘God’ censored in 1st grader’s Veteran’s Day poem. | MP3 audio 7:17 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bob Dutko Show | MP3 audio 11:05 mins | Related Alliance Defending Freedom press releases: ‘Christmas’ trees axed at NC college and Good grief! Atheist group disgruntled with ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Matt Sharp appeared on NC Family Policy Matters with Bill Brooks to discuss anti-bullying policies. | MP3 audio 14:17 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: ‘God’ censored in 1st grader’s Veteran’s Day poem. | MP3 audio 5:37 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bill Post Radio Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:07 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 5:13 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on Robert Mangino on KDKA Pittsburgh to discuss this. | MP3 audio 15:41 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on WTAM 1100 with Bob Frantz. | MP3 audio 9:10 mins | Related: NC College restores Christmas tree

Education News (linking to MyFoxBoston): “It’s ridiculous that anyone would have to think twice about using the word ‘Christmas’ as part of a Christmas tree sale,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF sent a letter to officials at Western Piedmont Community College urging them to either reconsider their decision to censor the word “Christmas” – or else face a possible lawsuit.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: The student group contacted Alliance Defending Freedom — a legal advocacy group that handles many First Amendment issues. The ADF promptly sent the college a letter urging them to either reconsider their decision or face possible legal action. “We’re pleased the college did the right thing,” attorney Matt Sharp told Fox News. “It really is ridiculous they tried to make this club use the word holiday instead of Christmas.”

Christian Post: “It’s ridiculous that anyone would have to think twice about using the word ‘Christmas’ as part of a Christmas tree sale,” said Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “Not only is it perfectly constitutional to use the word ‘Christmas,’ it is unconstitutional to prohibit use of it. This is another perfect example of the immense misunderstanding that far too many college officials have about what the First Amendment truly requires.”

Todd Starnes at Fox News: It’s ridiculous that anyone would have to think twice about using the word ‘Christmas’ as part of a Christmas tree sale,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom.

Citizen Link: ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp said colleges and universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. “By limiting the distribution of material and free speech to less than 1 percent of the campus, Louisiana State University is violating the constitutionally protected freedoms of students who should be free to express themselves on the sidewalks and open spaces at the university,” he explained.

One News Now: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom . . . The ADF attorney points out that elementary-age students have the same constitutional free-speech rights as adults. “Students have the right to engage in religious speech at school,” he notes, “and schools should be welcoming the free exchange of ideas among students, whether it’s an Easter egg hunt invitation or anything like that at school.”

Matt Sharp at Townhall: In a new low by those suffering from the belief that all things religious are like asbestos in the ceiling tiles of society, a senior living complex has denied an elderly widow the freedom to pray and talk about her faith in a common area. Why? Because the complex accepts U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds. This is a wrongheaded view of “separation of church and state” on steroids. The Constitution does not create a separation of church and home.

lliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman and Legal Counsel Matt Sharp will be available for media interviews immediately following Cortman’s oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Wednesday in favor of allowing elementary school students to distribute Christmas party fliers at school.

Matt Sharp at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Over 2,500 years later, students across the country are following in Josiah’s footsteps at the annual Fields of Faith event. On October 10, 2012, tens of thousands of students, parents, and community members will meet at their local athletic fields. They will hear students share their testimonies, be challenged to read the Word of God, and receive the call to follow Jesus Christ . . . To help students, parents, and school officials, Alliance Defending Freedom has prepared a memorandum discussing the legal rights of organizers and participants in Fields of Faith. If you are facing resistance in organizing the event at your school, please contact us at 1-800-835-5233.

The New American: But Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), another organization that defends schools and other groups against the attacks of the ACLU, emphasized that the U.S. Constitution is “the only permission slip students need to exercise their freedom of religion. The ACLU’s ‘Religious Freedom Goes to School’ campaign paints a restrictive picture of the freedoms for students, teachers, and school administrators that the First Amendment protects.”

One News Now: Legal counsel Matt Sharp gives one example involving the misleading advice the ACLU is giving South Carolina educators. “The ACLU said that the Bible can never — the Bible or any religious text — can never be used in the study of history … science or anything like that at the school, and that’s absolutely false,” Sharp asserts. “In fact, the Supreme Court has said that the Bible is worthy of study for its historical qualities, for its literary qualities.”

Matt Sharp appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this: ADF: New ‘yardstick’ sizes up anti-bullying policies. | MP3 audio 13:19 mins

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Minute Blog: Matt Sharp with the Alliance Defending Freedom commented on the case: “We … unfortunately see this pop up all too often where students can’t express their faith in school. This is a common thing, but fortunately the courts have commonly held that schools can’t restrict this.”

AP on Tampa Bay Online: Gilio sued, employing the services of Christian legal organizations: David Gibbs of the Christian Law Association and lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom . . . Matt Sharp, a lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom, said this type of case is not unusual. “We … unfortunately see this pop up all too often where students can’t express their faith in school,” Sharp said. “This is a common thing, but fortunately the courts have commonly held that schools can’t restrict this.”

One News Now: Many churches shy away from public schools because they fear violating the so-called “separation of church and state” laws. But Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom says churches have the same rights other public organizations enjoy in public schools. “In all of this, the important context is whatever the school allows other community groups to do, the school has to allow church to do the same,” he explains. “There’s no violation of the Constitution or the Establishment Clause when the school merely treats every group equally.”

One News Now: Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s support for the biblical definition of marriage has outraged “gay” activists, who have since been demanding that his restaurants be excused from college campuses. But Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom says such action would be illegal. [more]

Matt Sharp at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: But the fight isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning. Because now activist groups are demanding that several universities that have Chick-fil-As on campus take immediate steps to sever all ties with the company.

One News Now: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” says Matt Sharp, litigation counsel for ADF. “The First Amendment protects Chick-fil-A’s right and its president’s right to express their opinions on marriage and other political and social issues. Any retaliation against Chick-fil-A based on its speech is a violation of federal law.”

eChristianNews: An Alliance Defending Freedom legal letter has prompted the University of Alabama to update a policy to ensure that faith-based student groups will not be forced to allow opponents of their religious views into the membership or leadership of those groups. The university expressed its willingness to revise its guidelines “to reflect what has in fact been the practice” for many years at the university. “In America, students have the freedom to gather together around shared beliefs and to make membership and leadership decisions in keeping with that freedom,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Litigation Staff Matt Sharp. “We commend the University of Alabama for promptly updating its policy to protect that freedom in keeping with how the university says it has long operated.”

One News: A Texas third-grader will now be allowed to hand out invitations to an after-school Bible club, thanks to a lawsuit filed by Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) . . . Matt Sharp says the district has gone beyond his firm’s requests.”Something that I think is really important is that they’ve also agreed to provide mandatory teacher training upon the rights of students to engage in religious expression at school for the upcoming school year,” he reports. “So we think this is an incredible win.” [more]

One News Now: ADF litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp says they were told school policy forbids the funding of “religious worship or proselytizing.” “So this was a clearly discriminatory policy that was targeting religious speech and religious worship for disfavored treatment and denying it access to this pool of funds that all other student groups could get access to,” Sharp asserts. [more]

Christian Post: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a statement. “The school district should be commended for agreeing to respect the rights of its students under the First Amendment. Public schools are more likely to succeed when the freedom of ideas is allowed.” Matt Sharp, ADF litigation staff counsel, told The Christian Post that Dixon had already begun to look for a simpler solution not long after the suit was filed. “Shortly after we filed the lawsuit, the school district’s attorney contacted us to discuss a settlement of the case,” said Sharp.

One News Now: “The law was very clear that the school has to treat all student speech equally,” he [Matt Sharp] tells OneNewsNow. “It can’t discriminate against student speech based upon its religious viewpoint or its pro-life viewpoint, and that is what the school was doing here. They were giving favorable treatment to all of these other types of flyers and posters, but then censoring our client’s pro-life speech for unfavorable treatment.”

One News Now: Even if she’d been doing the same types of activities at a Boys and Girls Club, or a scouting organization or something like that, she would’ve received credit under the old policy,” explains litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp. “But because she chose to do that work at a church, she was originally denied any credit and ultimately put on probation with the National Honor Society.”

One News Now: “We’re not sure if this was ignorance or hostility,” Sharp comments. “We know that there was some history with hostility towards Christian groups there at the school and pressure in the past to form interfaith clubs.” . . . “The Equal Access Act in the Constitution both protected the right of students to form uniquely Christian clubs or clubs of any faith and to maintain the religious identity of that club without interference from school officials,” the attorney explains.

Christian Post: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. Removing the voice of faith from schools sends a message to all students that religion is something to be ashamed of,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Matt Sharp. “The school district is off to a good start in allowing this performance to occur, but it needs to revise its unconstitutional policy so that this doesn’t happen again.”

Idaho Reporter: Matt Sharp, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, was prepared to sue the school over not allowing the student to perform.

One News Now: “To say than an Easter egg hunt invitation offered from one student to another during non-instructional time is somehow not allowed in America is preposterous,” states [Matt] Sharp. “ADF has litigated numerous cases similar to this one, and the law is clear: invitations like this are protected by the Constitution.” [more – Jeremy Tedesco also quoted)

One News Now: And ADF attorney Matt Sharp asserts it is not a program that is trying to prop up religious schools to the detriment of others. “That’s exactly the correct interpretation of the law in all of this, is that there’s nothing wrong with giving state funds through a voucher program to low-income families to give them options for their kids,” he contends.

One News Now: Matt Sharp of Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) says the Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent intimidating letters to 400 districts in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky, hoping they will cave rather than stand up to the threat of a lawsuit. But his firm is encouraging the latter option. “We hope that schools will stand up for the free-speech rights of students and the right to express their religious beliefs in opportunities like this and won’t cave in to pressure,” Sharp says, “but we think that’s probably what their game plan is.” [more]

Matt Sharp on the Hugh Hewitt Show. | MP3 audio 5:26 mins | ADF Memo: Constitutional Rights of Students, Teachers, and Public Schools to Seasonal
Religious Expression | ADF press release: Owasso Kids for Christ v. Owasso Public Schools resource page | ADF press release: ADF files suit after school district prohibited third-grader’s handwritten Bible club invitations

One News Now: ADF litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp says the club was forced to file a lawsuit when Owasso Public School District officials told them the religious nature of their organization meant they could not promote it (see earlier story). [more quotes]

Fox23.com: A lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund representing Owasso Kids for Christ released the following statement about the settlement: “A Christian organization should have the same right to publicize its voluntary meetings as other groups do,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Matt Sharp. “The district has done the right thing in revising its unconstitutional policy. That will allow ‘Kids for Christ’ and other similar groups to have the same access to publicize their events to students that all other groups enjoy.”

Matt Sharp on the Bob Dutko Show. | MP3 audio 6:37 mins

Tulsa World: “All we were asking for is a policy change to make sure groups like these are treated equally and reassurance that you’re going to treat our client equally going forward,” he said. “The original policy basically prohibited any religious materials from being distributed at school. The district has drafted a new comprehensive policy that specifically says that no materials will prohibited based upon religious content,” Sharp said. “Our client got what they were seeking in this case, which is to have the same right to get their message out as other groups.”

ADF Attorney Matt Sharp appeared on the Bill LuMaye Show to discuss this:
UNC-Greensboro: Christian club isn’t religious | MP3 audio 5:22 mins

Christian Post: “They can’t just stop there. There’s this unconstitutional policy that underlies this whole case,” said Sharp, as reported by OneNewsNow.com. “The school district-wide policy prohibits any credit for community service work done … if that community service work is done at a church.”

Washington Post: “If you are doing community work that is part of a church service, you can’t be given credit,” said Matt Sharp of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, the group that filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. “This is an unconstitutional policy that needs to be remedied.”

One News Now: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defense Fund says he applauds Fairfax County Virginia schools for trying to right this wrong. However, ADF is continuing with the lawsuit — and Sharp explains why. “They can’t just stop there. There’s this unconstitutional policy that underlies this whole case,” says the ADF attorney. “The school district-wide policy … prohibits any credit for community service work done … if that community service work is done at a church.”

Greeley Gazette: The Alliance Defense Fund is helping an honor student in Alexandria, Virginia after she was denied community service credit because her volunteering was faith-based rather than secular in nature. Matt Sharp, litigation counsel with the ADF, says his client, 17-year-old Sarah Stites, is claiming discrimination because she was denied any credit toward her 12 required community service hours because her work was done at her local church.

ADF Attorney Matt Sharp appeared on WRVA 1140 Richmond, VA with Scott and Richard Lee to discuss this: School dishonors honors student’s service to children. | MP3 audio 8:47 mins

ADF Attorney Matt Sharp on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: UNC-Greensboro: Christian club isn’t religious. | MP3 audio 5:30 mins

Huffington Post: “There’s no honor in penalizing an honors student’s community service to children just because it happens to be faith-based,” Sharp said, according to FOX News & Commentary. “Positive community service and leadership like this should be encouraged by schools, not subjected to unconstitutional discrimination.”

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Staff Counsel Matt Sharp regarding today’s development in S.S. v. Fairfax County School Board, involving a National Honor Society student who was denied community service credit for her service to children …

Fox News: Virginia school district said they would reverse a decision to remove a student from the National Honor Society just hours after the student filed a federal lawsuit accusing the district of religious discrimination.

Religion Clause Blog: Alliance Defense Fund announced the filing of the lawsuit.

Fox News: “In essence, she was targeted and discriminated against solely because of the religious nature of her community service work,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund. Sharp is represented the unidentified student in her lawsuit. “There’s no honor in penalizing an honors student’s community service to children just because it happens to be faith-based,” Sharp said. “Positive community service and leadership like this should be encouraged by schools, not subjected to unconstitutional discrimination.”

ADF Attorney Matt Sharp on the Bill Post Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 9:58 mins

One News Now: However, as ADF litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp reports, other diverse posters were allowed, including edited photos that made students look like bloody zombies, as well as posters announcing the Gay-Straight Alliance’s “Day of Silence.” “The simple fact is that [the student] has a positive pro-life message, and the school, under the First Amendment, must respect that message and give it the same treatment that’s given to all of these other student posters — the zombie posters and everything else that’s allowed in the school,” Sharp contends. [more]

Christian Post: Matt Sharp, the ADF attorney who works at the ADF’s Public School Litigation Team, told The Christian Post that this case was about the rights students should have while in school. “We think this is an important case,” said Sharp, who also believed it was “important to stand by students” who “want to express their rights” on campus. [more . . . ]

Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily: Pro-life students have a positive and valuable message that school officials should welcome, not censor,” said Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for ADF. “Public schools are more likely to succeed when they allow for the free exchange of ideas.” . . . “What is offensive is the double-standard here,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Matt Sharp. “Public school officials cannot pick and choose what messages they are going to allow based on which viewpoints they prefer. ADF has litigated numerous cases similar to this one, and the law and the Constitution are clearly on our side here as well.”