WHO: ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum
WHAT: Available for media interviews following trial in Whitson v. Knox County Board of Education
WHEN: Trial is scheduled from Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Friday, Oct. 30, but could end sooner; Kellum will be available for interviews once entire trial has concluded
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 800 Market St., Suite 130, Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Nate Kellum will be available for media interviews this week following the last day of trial in Whitson v. Knox County Board of Education, which concerns a 10-year-old student who was prohibited from reading and discussing the Bible during recess. ADF attorneys filed suit against the Knox County Board of Education in June 2005 on behalf of fourth-grader Luke Whitson after school officials prohibited him and other students from reading and discussing the Bible during recess.
“Christian students shouldn’t be prohibited from reading and discussing their Bibles at public schools during non-instructional time,” said Kellum. “School officials need to understand that the Constitution does not prohibit Bibles during recess; it prohibits the banning of Bibles during recess.”
During the Spring 2005 semester, Whitson and a few other students read their Bibles and discussed them together on the grounds of Karns Elementary School during non-instructional time at recess. After an unnamed parent complained about the students, the school’s principal ordered a teacher to put a stop to the student-led Bible discussion.
Karns Elementary School and Knox County School District officials have enforced a policy that prohibits students from reading and discussing the Bible during recess, which the officials contend is not “free time.” ADF attorneys argue that the officials are enforcing an unconstitutional policy and filed suit against the Knox County Board of Education on behalf of Whitson and his parents in June 2005. A motion for preliminary injunction was also filed against the board later that year in September to keep the district from enforcing its policy.
ADF-allied attorney Charles Pope, of Athens, Tenn., is serving as local counsel in the lawsuit.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.