California School Backs Down and Will Allow Elementary Student to Share Bible Verses

PALMDALE, CA - Just in time for back to school, the Palmdale School District has backed away from censoring a first grader's constitutional rights to share Bible verses with his classmates at Desert Rose Elementary School. The situation started with an encouraging note and Bible verse from mom Christina Zavala, tucked into a packed lunch for her little boy ("C"). The seven-year-old boy read the note and verse and showed them to his friends during lunch time at school. Soon the other children excitedly begged "C" for copies of the notes along with short Bible stories that provided context for the verses. However, when one little girl said, "Teacher, this is the most beautiful story I've ever seen," school officials banned the notes from lunchtime distribution citing "separation of church and state." "C" was told that the school gate was the only location where he could distribute the Bible verses to his friends and only after the bell rang.