An elected member of one of Arizona’s largest school boards has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the board improperly ordered her to stop quoting Bible verses during public meetings after two secular advocacy groups complained.
Heather Rooks filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board, asking that her actions be declared “nothing unlawful.” The district, about 32 miles northwest of Phoenix, has 42 schools and more than 36,000 students, according to its website.
The filing included an email from the district’s outside counsel, Lisa Anne Smith of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy PC, saying the reading of Bible verses at board meetings violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and Arizona’s Open Meeting Law. According to Ms. Rooks’ lawsuit, the school board attorney offered advice in light of complaint letters from Secular Arizona and the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, both of which objected to Ms. Brooks and board member Rebecca Hill quoting from the Bible.
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