Two parents are alleging that Lubbock-Cooper High School infringed on their student’s right of separation of church and state.
It all started when a Christian organization came into the school during the lunch period and passed out flyers advertising a church youth group that meets after school.
According to school policy, Lubbock Cooper High School is a closed campus and visitors are not permitted at lunches. The parents said they first spoke to the principal of the school who told them students were not allowed to have personal visitors but this organization was allowed.
The parents then went to the superintendent after concerns of how and which organization were given permission to the school. The superintendent said he agreed with the parents in an e-mail and believes students should have a closed lunch and instructed principals as such.
Since then though, the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote to the superintendent of Lubbock Cooper ISD. This non-profit’s goal is to protect constitutional principles of separation of church and state, something they believe Lubbock- Cooper High School is in violation of.
The two parents said they are afraid this issue will happen again and would back down if they believe staff at Lubbock-Cooper had the right training. The parent decided to stay anonymous to keep their daughter’s identity secret.
“I’d really like to see a possible re-training of teachers to understand what is or isn’t allowed in the classroom and the lunchroom,” said the concerned parent. “I really feel like they need to respect the rights of parents and students and their religious beliefs. Parents need to be the ones having these conversation about religious beliefs and not the school district.”
EverythingLubbock.com reached out to Lubbock-Cooper ISD and they said in a statement:
“To the knowledge of Lubbock-Cooper district administration, this matter has been resolved in a manner that addresses the concerns of the parent and aligns with school protocol. In a written message to Superintendent Keith Bryant, the concerned parent stated, “I really appreciate you rectifying this situation.
The district is unaware of any outstanding concern, but encourages any community stakeholder to come forward with any matter that may require resolution. Lubbock-Cooper ISD considers the educational process a partnership between school and community.
Lubbock-Cooper ISD complies fully with all federal and state laws and local board policy. The district’s main priorities are to keep all students safe, educate all students, and love all students. These priorities will not change.”
The concerned parent believes that quote was taken out of context.
Lubbock-Cooper ISD has one month to respond to the Freedom From Religion Foundation. If not, the organization will pursue other actions they see necessary.
