BY: ANNA KAMINSKI
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — A Kansas school district investigated an incident in which an elementary school principal invited a missionary to pass out Bibles at recess, the superintendent said in a statement Wednesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas sent a letter Monday to Katie Struebing, principal of East Elementary School in the roughly 2,000-person city of Belleville, asserting that the school violated the First Amendment.
Struebing recruited a member of the evangelical Christian organization Gideons International, Ben Dreesen, to hand out Bibles to students during their recess on May 7, according to the letter, which was penned by Monica Bennett, ACLU of Kansas legal director.
The Republic County school district conducted a “thorough investigation” this summer, the district’s superintendent, Tami Knedler, said in an emailed statement Wednesday. Knedler declined to comment on the employees involved or the details of the investigation.
“I can assure you that our district is committed to welcoming all religious viewpoints, not promoting any specific one,” Knedler said. “We continue to review our practices and policies to ensure they reflect this commitment.”
Struebing allowed Dreesen on school grounds and helped him hand out Bibles to students, which lent “credibility and authority” to Dreesen, “in effect placing a stamp of approval on his message and subjecting students to a religiously coercive atmosphere,” Bennett wrote in the letter.
Ahead of Dreesen’s visit, Struebing also informed teachers and students of the “nice man” who would be handing out Bibles. A student’s parents reported the visit to the Kansas ACLU.
In the letter, Bennett said that the school violated the First Amendment in addition to the district’s own policies against promoting religious viewpoints.