WaPo.com:
The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of high school cheerleaders who had argued that their free speech was trampled by their school district when it ordered them not to display banners emblazoned with Bible verses at football games.
The court acknowledged in its opinion that the Kountze school district, about 95 miles northeast of Houston, later allowed the banners. But the justices determined their ruling was necessary to protect the future display of religious-themed signs because the district has argued it retains the right to restrict them.
The banners carried various Biblical verses such as, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
The lawsuit now returns to the appeals court that ruled in 2014 that the cheerleaders’ lawsuit was moot because of the district’s policy change.RELATED: Public hearing draws criticism of “religious freedom” bill
Hiram Sasser, deputy chief counsel for the Texas-based Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in issues of religious liberty and represented the cheerleaders, said the question now becomes whether the school district will continue the fight.
“Are they going to continue to bleed taxpayer money to fight for the right to censor religious speech?” Sasser asked.
Thomas Brandt, an attorney representing the school district, did not return a call for comment Friday.
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