Court Denies TRO In Establishment Clause Challenge To Tennessee School System Practices

In ACLU-TN v. Sumner County Board of Education, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47977 (MD TN, May 3, 2011), a Tennessee federal district court rejected the ACLU's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in a case alleging that the Sumner County schools violate the Establishment Clause by a series of practices that promote and endorse religion. (See prior posting.) The court found that the only imminent activity posing an issue is a day-long Teens Against Alcohol and Tobacco Use program for 6th graders scheduled to be held in a Baptist church. The court concluded that this program has a secular purpose and that there are no religious symbols or imagery in the room of the church that will be used for this particular program.