Summary
K.A. is a devout Christian who wanted to share her love of Christ to her friends at school. When her church announced it was hosting a community-wide Christmas party for children, K.A. thought it would be the perfect opportunity to invite her friends to church. When she brought several invitations to school to give out during free time, she was stopped by a teacher and told she had to get permission. The superintendent denied her request, even though other students regularly hand out invitations to birthday parties and other non-school events. Community groups are even permitted to send out announcements and advertisements promoting their after school activities.
With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, K.A. filed a lawsuit against the school district to challenge the censorship of her religious expression. The district court ruled in her favor and enjoined the school from prohibiting her religious invitations. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the decision, finding that younger students have the same First Amendment rights as older students. The court also struck down the two policies the school relied on to deny K.A.’s flyers, a ruling that will impact hundreds of other school districts throughout Pennsylvania that have similar policies on the books.
Case Timeline
- December 2010: Katie Ayers sought to distribute invitations to her church’s Christmas party for kids but was denied by her school.
- March 2011: ADF filed a lawsuit on behalf of Katie for violations of her First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression.
- October 2011: The district court issued a preliminary injunction against Pocono Mountain School District that prohibited it from stopping students from distributing fliers that invite other students to church parties and other religious events. The court also halted enforcement of district policies that prohibit any student speech considered to be promoting Christianity. The school district filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied in March 2012. The school then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
- March 2013: The 3rd Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s decision that found two Pocono Mountain School District policies that had been used to censor Katie unconstitutional.
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