School Forced To Pay $275,000 Over Bible Ban

A Washington school district that required children to keep Bibles concealed in sealed envelopes inside their backpacks has agreed to pay $275,000 in attorney’s fees and publicly apologize following a religious discrimination lawsuit.

Everett Public Schools also agreed to religious liberty training for its school board and revisions governing religious activities, according to First Liberty Institute, which represented the plaintiffs alongside Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. The written apology must remain publicly visible for six months.

“Religious discrimination has no place in public schools,” First Liberty senior counsel Stephanie Taub said in the organization’s settlement announcement.

The dispute centered on LifeWise Academy, a nonprofit offering voluntary, privately funded Bible education off school grounds during school hours with parental permission.

According to LifeWise’s Oct. 14 announcement, district restrictions required students returning from the program to keep materials, including Bibles, sealed in envelopes in their backpacks. Families also faced weekly parental reauthorization requirements, while LifeWise was excluded from community events and flyer displays.

“Parents and students deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of their religious beliefs,” LifeWise CEO Joel Penton said in the announcement.

The district’s own statement acknowledged that a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction after determining the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their First Amendment claims.

Those claims involved permission slips, the sealed-envelope requirement and restrictions on LifeWise’s access to district facilities because it was a religious organization, according to Everett Public Schools.