Kindergartener's Religious Discrimination Case

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The Supreme Court Monday refused to hear the case of a New York kindergartner who sued his school after the Jesus poster he submitted for a class assignment on saving the environment was allegedly censored. In Baldwinsville School District v. Peck, the high court let stand a ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that prohibited public schools from censoring the religious viewpoints of students in class assignments. Antonio Peck and his parents filed the lawsuit, saying his free speech rights were violated when school officials folded his poster in half to block any view of Jesus. The poster depicted Jesus kneeling on one knee with his hands open to the sky. "Today's ruling is a victory for religious freedom and students who have been singled out for discrimination by overzealous school officials," said Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, in a statement. "In a nation founded on religious freedom, it is appalling that a kindergarten student would be subjected to censorship and humiliation simply for expressing his religious viewpoint," said Perkins.