Suite Challenges School's Restrictions On Bible Distribution

Suit was filed this week in a Pennsylvania federal district court challenging regulations and policies of the Mechanicsburg Area School District that limit student members of a school's Bible Club from distributing Bibles to classmates during lunch time hours. School policy allows non-school materials to be distributed only on public sidewalks outside the building and only for 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school, except as otherwise permitted by the principal.  The complaint (full text) in Christians In Action Club v. Mechanicsburg Area School District, (MD PA, filed 1/30/2019) challenges these as "overbroad and unconstitutional time and place restrictions that impose a complete ban on literature distribution during the school day." The suit alleges that these restrictions violate students' free speech and free exercise rights both on their face and as applied. Cumberland Sentinel reports on the lawsuit.