District drops 'John 3:16' ban

An art policy at a Wisconsin high school that allowed images of Buddha, the Grim Reaper, demons and Medusa but banned the Bible reference John 3:16 is being changed as the result of a student's challenge to the district.

The turnabout came after Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on behalf of a student at Tomah High School who was given a "zero" grade for refusing to remove the words "John 3:16" and "a sign of love" from an art project.

The student, identified as A.P. in the suit, was told by his teacher that the cross and biblical reference on his drawing needed to be covered because they were sparking comments from other students. He was then shown a policy banning depictions of "blood, violence, sexual connotations, [or] religious beliefs," which A.P. had signed to participate in the class.

Under the terms of the settlement reached yesterday, Tomah Area School District officials have removed the ban on religious expression in class assignments. A.P.'s artwork has been graded, and all references to the detentions have been cleared from his record. The school also agreed to pay A.P.'s attorney fees.

A.P. received a B+ for his artwork, ADF said.

Artwork banned because of the inclusion of a biblical reference and the message: "A sign of love"

Censoring A.P.'s work on religious grounds smacked of hypocrisy, the ADF lawyers argued..

"While penalizing A.P.'s religious expression, defendants prominently display[ed] in the school's hallway a large painting of a six-limbed Hindu woman riding a swan figure," the complaint said. "… Elsewhere, on a hallway bulletin board, there hangs a drawing of a robed sorcerer."

The school also houses a sitting Buddha fountain, and a replica of Michelangelo's "The Creation of Man" is displayed at the school's entrance. Other students have their religious artwork on display, including drawings of Medusa and the Grim Reaper and masks of devil-like figures.

"Allowing demonic depictions by some students while prohibiting Christian religious expression in artwork by others is a blatant violation of the Constitution," said David Cortman, senior ADF counsel.

ADF also argued in its suit against the policy prohibiting religious expression that A.P. was compelled to sign.

When A.P. was confronted by his teacher, she showed him the policy and explained that he had "signed away his First Amendment rights."

But A.P. tore the policy in protest, an act for which he received a pair of detentions, denying any such surrender of rights.

“The student was correct," Cortman explained. "A public school cannot require students to sign away their constitutional right to free speech and religious expression. Furthermore, other students created artwork in violation of this illegitimate policy, but no action was taken against them. Only our client was singled out."