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How One Student Uncovered Multiple Constitutional Violations at His High School
How One Student Uncovered Multiple Constitutional Violations at His High School
Isaiah (Issah) Smith just graduated from high school after a very eventful year in which he exposed all sorts of religious violations at his school. It’s as good a time as any to take stock of what he accomplished — and what he sacrificed to do it.
Earlier this school year, after being bullied for being gay, Isaiah decided to bring a Bible to school to explain to his classmates why the verses they cited didn’t actually condemn gay people. In the process, he ripped out the pages from Leviticus.
That caused Birdville High School Assistant Principal Glenn Serviente to pull Isaiah from class and warn him that he must not cause a “disruption” by ripping the Bible. (I guess the bullies were not seen as disruptive…?) Isaiah promised not to rip it up any more, but asked for (and received) permission to continue carrying that Bible with him.
But a couple of days later, Serviente summoned Isaiah back to his office:
He asked Isaiah, “how would Muslims feel if a student was tearing up the Qur-an?” and then told him he was suspended. He then demanded Isaiah to give him the book. Isaiah said no, informing Serviente that he did not tear the Bible since being told on Monday that he could not do so. The assistant principal clarified that Isaiah was suspended for merely carrying a ripped Bible at school. He then reached for Isaiah’s Bible without his permission and slammed it on his desk. First he said Isaiah was suspended from school for the remainder of the day, but then changed his mind and told Isaiah he was suspended for three days. He also confiscated Isaiah’s Bible.
At that point, Isaiah contacted church/state separation groups on Facebook like the ACLU and the American Humanist Association. The AHA wrote back and eventually sent the district a letter letting them know they were violating the law by suspending Isaiah when, in fact, he did nothing wrong:
Reprimanding Isaiah for ripping his Bible on Monday violated the First Amendment. Isaiah’s Bible was not the source of disruption, the bullying was. Instead of reprimanding the bullies, the school punished Isaiah for offering an alternative viewpoint on the Bible.Isaiah (Issah) Smith just graduated from high school after a very eventful year in which he exposed all sorts of religious violations at his school. It’s as good a time as any to take stock of what he accomplished — and what he sacrificed to do it.
Earlier this school year, after being bullied for being gay, Isaiah decided to bring a Bible to school to explain to his classmates why the verses they cited didn’t actually condemn gay people. In the process, he ripped out the pages from Leviticus.
That caused Birdville High School Assistant Principal Glenn Serviente to pull Isaiah from class and warn him that he must not cause a “disruption” by ripping the Bible. (I guess the bullies were not seen as disruptive…?) Isaiah promised not to rip it up any more, but asked for (and received) permission to continue carrying that Bible with him.
But a couple of days later, Serviente summoned Isaiah back to his office:
He asked Isaiah, “how would Muslims feel if a student was tearing up the Qur-an?” and then told him he was suspended. He then demanded Isaiah to give him the book. Isaiah said no, informing Serviente that he did not tear the Bible since being told on Monday that he could not do so. The assistant principal clarified that Isaiah was suspended for merely carrying a ripped Bible at school. He then reached for Isaiah’s Bible without his permission and slammed it on his desk. First he said Isaiah was suspended from school for the remainder of the day, but then changed his mind and told Isaiah he was suspended for three days. He also confiscated Isaiah’s Bible.
At that point, Isaiah contacted church/state separation groups on Facebook like the ACLU and the American Humanist Association. The AHA wrote back and eventually sent the district a letter letting them know they were violating the law by suspending Isaiah when, in fact, he did nothing wrong:
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