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Frisco: There is a book battle of sorts taking
place in Frisco schools. This isn't about a textbook
it's about the "Good Book." The district permits free
Bibles to be put out for students; but there's a fine
line between non school literature that's "put out" and
"given out.”
Debbie Lutz has two children in Frisco schools . "How is
that allowed?" she asked. "It makes me very mad."
Gideon volunteers have visited both her children's
campuses with Bibles in tow. It's part of the Frisco
ISD's rotating schedule that permits the religious group
in some schools for one day.
"That is unbelievable," Lutz said. "No one has ever sent
a letter home from the school district telling me that."
District policy says non school literature is allowed as
long as it doesn't "attack ethnic, religious, or racial
groups." It also can't "interfere with school activities
or the rights of others.”
"I just think religion should be out of schools," Lutz
said.
Another Frisco mom, Nicki Wilks, has a son who attends
Griffin Middle School. "He said, 'Oh yeah, mom, somebody
was handing out Bibles at school today, and some of the
kids started getting upset, and the parents started
showing up.'”
Wilks tries to read the Bible daily, and is stunned at
the outcry of negativity. "It's not like it is in the
curriculum," Wilks said. "It's not like we're making
them take Bible classes.”
But Wilks says offering not pushing the Bible should be
fair game. "I believe in freedom of religion, but I
think there are people from the other religions who
would like to completely stifle the Christian side of
it," she said.
The Gideons once handed out their Bibles along a public
sidewalk in Frisco, but after too many parent complaints
to the police department and the school, the district
decided to move things inside. School officials said
it's the only way to control the situation.
"We cannot pick and choose which materials are allowed
to be left at a designated location for display/pickup
based upon the viewpoint expressed in the materials," a
Frisco ISD spokeswoman said in a statement.
The district admits that it has had to remind
representatives of the Gideons to not approach children;
that's the only way the volunteers are allowed in
schools.
Either way, Lutz says it puts her kids in a tough spot.
"Not maybe 'forced,' but maybe [they] they feel a sense
of obligation to pick it up? Just so they're not
uncomfortable," she said.
Wilk disagrees. "This should be made available if our
children want it."
And at least at some Frisco public schools, Bibles are
made available for students.
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