A New Jersey school's decision to allow Christian students to enjoy the same free speech rights as other students could be the beginning of a nationwide trend to protect students' rights.
Northern Highlands Regional High School had blocked a Christian club from participating in the Day of Truth, a day for Christian students to express their views on homosexuality, but backed down after being contacted by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).
Because some students chose to take a stand, ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco said they've cleared the way for other students to speak out.
“Here we have a victory," he told Family News in Focus, "because there’s a written policy that requires school administrators to make a decision in a certain amount of time on requests of students to distribute literature, to engage in other speech activities and it has content-neutral, viewpoint-neutral restrictions on what kind of speech can take place.”
Candi Cushman, education analyst at Focus on the Family Action, pointed out that Texas lawmakers recently passed legislation ensuring the religious liberties of students.
"Texas has set a model and an example for the rest of the nation of a strategy that can be used by schools to protect members of their religious communities,” she said.
Cushman hopes other districts around the country adopt similar policies.
“People are on good ground if they want to recommend something like this to their school boards.”
