First they took away…

First they took away Christmas carols. Then they wouldn’t even allow the instrumental versions to be played. And now?

Now a school district has banned the colors red and green from a “Winter Break Party,” requiring parents to bring only white plates and napkins.

In response to the party policy, as well as many other rules a group of parents and students believe to be rank censorship, a lawsuit has been filed against the Plano Independent School District in Texas to fight back against its “religious hostility,” as one attorney puts it.

Other policies cited in the suit, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, include a ban on candy cane distribution when a religious card is attached, a ban on parents giving religious-oriented items to one another on school property and a ban on criticizing school board members or administrators on campus.

“This lawsuit includes a large amount of evidence that demonstrates the pervasive religious hostility in Plano ISD,” said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Liberty Legal Institute, which, along with Alliance Defense Fund, is representing about 20 clients in the suit.

The paranoia is reaching fever pitch. The First Amendment permits the free exercise of religion, not making government schools religion-free zones.

One item included in the suit is the case of a girl student who was forbidden to invite her friends to an Easter event at her church, according to the law firm.

“We’ve even got a mom who went to the school asking if her daughter at her birthday party could hand out a pencil with ‘Jesus’ on it,” Shackelford told WND, “and the principal got so upset with her that he called the police.

“It’s just unbelievable stuff. We’ve been collecting these things for a year or two. This is a pervasive, district-wide problem of political correctness in the extreme.”

Freedom of speech stops at the school doors. Yes, the school system has the right to regulate speech to a point–especially if it is disruptive to the learning environment–but pencils with “Jesus” on them?

Said Shackelford: “There’s a huge difference between the school putting a sign out that says, ‘We endorse Jesus,’ and telling students and parents that they can’t live out their faith.”

Commenting on the white-only policy for party supplies, Shackelford quipped, “I guess nobody has told them white could symbolize the purity of Christ. They’d probably ban white!”

For a lighter look at Christmas colors, check out this graphic.

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