Cheerleaders in a small city in east Texas can continue to display Bible verses at football games, the state’s highest court has decided, bringing them closer to the end of a yearslong battle with their school district.
Since the lawsuit was filed six years ago, multiple courts have sided with the cheerleaders at the Kountze district, ruling they have a First Amendment right to display religious messages at school events. The Texas Supreme Court late last month rejected a request by district officials to rethink those rulings, handing the cheerleaders yet another victory.
The cheerleaders sued after school officials told them they could not display Bible verses on their banners at school sporting events. The officials ended up changing the policy, but reserved the right to restrict what the banners said because they counted as government speech.
