A school system in North Carolina took corrective action after FFRF discovered that school staff were directing meetings of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. (Jan/Feb 2026)

North Carolina —

The Whiteville City Schools system in North Carolina took corrective action after FFRF discovered that school staff were using their roles to direct meetings of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

A community member informed FFRF that Whiteville High School’s FCA chapter was being led by multiple teachers at the school. Reportedly, these teachers were leading the meetings during school hours, during the school’s flex period, accompanied by outside community members and a youth pastor from Western Prong Baptist Church.

“Allowing religious clubs preferential access to school time to proselytize and recruit students for religious activities is a violation of the Establishment Clause,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to the district.

Thanks to FFRF’s work, action was taken and school employees have been removed from club organization roles. “I met with the staff members named in Ms. Gude’s letter along with the principal of the school,” wrote Jonathan B. Williams, the district’s superintendent. “I read them the main points of the letter and emphasized the contents of the final paragraph. They assured me that all meetings will be originated, organized and led by students without their influence or participation.”

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An evangelist in Pickerington, Ohio used a school assembly to invite students to his church. (Jan/Feb 2026)

Ohio —

FFRF made sure that a religious illusionist wouldn’t pull another trick on the Pickering Schools System in Pickerington, Ohio, after the evangelist used a school assembly to invite students to his church.

Several concerned parents reported that on Sept. 29, 2025, Harmon Middle School permitted an adult magician and evangelist, David Corn, to perform for students during a school assembly. The assembly took place on school property during the school day, and after the performance, Corn allegedly gave students free tickets to a religious event billed as a “magic show” later that week at a local church. Corn’s website describes his scheme: “Primarily, we enter public schools, hold morality talks, and invite young people to church for a bigger illusion show where I preach the gospel. Hundreds of first-time visitors have come to church, heard the gospel and trusted Christ!”

The parent informed FFRF that their children were excited about going to the “magic show” event and that they had to disappoint their children and try to explain why the show did not align with their families’ views.

“The school’s actions also needlessly marginalized district students, including our complainants’ children, and staff who are nonreligious, as well as those who believe in minority faiths,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to the district.

FFRF’s work paid off as district Superintendent Charles Smialek confirmed in an email apologizing for the event. “We acknowledge that we violated our own policy by allowing this gentleman to distribute tickets to his religious event at his church,” Smialek wrote. “This was unexpected and should not have occurred. We have reminded our principals in our monthly meeting format to not allow for repeat lapses.”

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A public school system in Oklahoma is making sure all clubs are not interfering with the separation of state and church. (Jan/Feb 2026)

Oklahoma —

The Muskogee Public Schools system in Oklahoma informed FFRF that schools within the district would be reviewed in order to make sure all clubs are not interfering with the separation of state and church.

Multiple community members reported that Irving Elementary School was organizing, promoting and opting all students into a religious club, Kids for Christ. A complainant stated that on Sept. 23, 2025, their child came home with a form to opt out of attending a Kids for Christ club that was meeting every Thursday morning at school in students’ “designated pods.” The form had been handed out to students by school staff. The form additionally included explicitly religious imagery such as the bible and advertises religious events, including “See You at the Pole.” Further, the form instructed parents to opt out of the club by returning the signed form to the school office.

“The plain meaning of this permission slip indicates that all students at Irving Elementary School will be attending and participating in Kids for Christ unless their parent or guardian returns the opt out form,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the district. “In other words, the elementary school is unilaterally creating, organizing, running, and signing elementary school students up for an overtly Christian club on school property.”

Upon receiving FFRF’s letter, the district conducted an investigation, and Executive Director of Elementary/Student Services Ginger Baker detailed the steps included in the investigation, which included: “The district meeting with administration to further explore student clubs at each site and handling of materials that may not meet federal or state requirements regarding separation between state and church.”

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A Tennessee elementary school has multiple unconstitutional religious entanglements in school activities. (Jan/Feb 2026)

Tennessee —

After learning of a Tennessee elementary school’s multiple unconstitutional religious entanglements in school activities, FFRF contacted the Gibson County Special School District.

FFRF learned of multiple violations occurring in the district. On Sept. 22, 2025, Gideons International was permitted to distribute its New Testaments to fifth-grade students at Yorkville Elementary School. A Facebook post from the school’s official page included a staged photo of students with bibles that read, “Thank you to Gideons for their yearly delivery of New Testaments for our 5th graders!” Gideons International is “an evangelical association that equips and mobilizes Christian business and professional men, along with their wives, to share God’s word.”

Additionally, the school promoted a See You at the Pole event on the page. A post on Sept. 24 about the event showed students gathered with an adult speaking to them for the religious event. Another violation included a Nov. 11 Veterans Day ceremony, which included a closing prayer.

Finally, while Yorkville Elementary is complying with Tennessee law by displaying “In God We Trust” in the hallway, the complainant reported that a Christian cross was also displayed with the motto.

“The district’s continual support for religion, Christianity in particular, excludes a significant number of nonreligious students and families,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to the district. “Thirty-eight percent of the American population is non-Christian, including the almost 30 percent who are nonreligious.”

Despite the multiple violations, FFRF is pleased to report that the district has worked to remove religious influence from official school communications and activities. FFRF received an email from Eddie Pruett, director of schools, stating that he spoke with the principal in regard to the issues. Pruett confirmed that the school Facebook page will not be used to promote either Gideon bibles or See You at the Pole events, students will not be leading prayer at school sponsored events, and the cross had been removed from school property.

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An Independent School District in Texas will not include any religious speakers at graduation ceremonies. (Jan/Feb 2026)

Texas —

FFRF was able to convince the Ponder Independent School District in Texas not to include any religious speakers at graduation ceremonies in the future.

A district parent informed FFRF of a pre-planned prayer at Ponder High School’s May 2025 graduation ceremony. Both a pre-planned innovation and a benediction were delivered at the ceremony. FFRF received a picture of the graduation ceremony agenda that confirmed the religious contents of the event.

“The popularity of including prayer is immaterial. Courts have continually reaffirmed that the rights of minorities are nonetheless protected by the Constitution,” Then-FFRF Patrick O’Reilly Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi wrote to the district.

After FFRF sent the letter in September 2025, it did not hear any response from the district until after sending a follow-up letter at the end of November. Superintendent James Hill confirmed that the message received was clear, and that the district would not make the same mistake going forward. “There will not be a preplanned invocation or benediction on the agenda this year,” Hill wrote.

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Tarrant County Unveils New Ten Commandments Monument On Historic Fort Worth Courthouse Lawn

Dallas Express (Dallas, TX)
By Joe Edwards

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Sher­iff responds to con­ver­sion com­plaint

The Oklahoman
By Carla Hinton

The post Sher­iff responds to con­ver­sion com­plaint appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.

FFRF denounces new Texas county courthouse 10 Commandments display

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is objecting to a newly installed Ten Commandments monument placed outside the Tarrant County Courthouse as divisive and unconstitutional.

The monument, unveiled during a public ceremony on Jan. 16, stands alone on the courthouse grounds in Fort Worth and features the Ten Commandments rendered in the King James translation. It was accepted as a donation in April from the American History & Heritage Foundation, an organization founded by activist Jason Rapert, a former Arkansas state legislator who openly opposes the separation between state and church. FFRF has received numerous complaints about the display, including several from Tarrant County residents.

“This monument has no legitimate secular purpose,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “It is a plainly religious display that promotes a version favored by Protestant Christians, thereby excluding not only non-Christians but Catholics, which sends a message that only certain beliefs are welcome in Tarrant County.”

FFRF notes that the unveiling ceremony featured an explicitly Christian prayer and speeches by extremist Christian nationalist groups, including First Liberty Institute and WallBuilders. During the ceremony, Texas state Rep. Nate Schatzline offered a sectarian invocation that declared: “We don’t just make room for you, God, we give you Tarrant County. … Tarrant County is the Lord’s.”

County officials have reportedly attempted to justify the monument by claiming the Ten Commandments reflect the moral and legal foundations of American law. History and law disprove that assertion.

“The United States was founded on secular legal principles derived primarily from English common law, Enlightenment philosophy and classical sources, not biblical mandates,” FFRF legal counsel Chris Line writes to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. “Many of the commandments are purely religious directives, including prohibitions on worshiping other gods, making graven images, taking the Lord’s name in vain, and observing the Sabbath. These provisions have no analogue in American law and are constitutionally barred from enforcement.”

FFRF’s letter explains that the Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down courthouse Ten Commandments displays that lack a genuine secular context. While Van Orden v. Perry narrowly upheld a Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds deeming the grounds tantamount to a museum, the court emphasized that a new, isolated display would be more likely to violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

FFRF emphasized that, as a matter of policy, the county should not be displaying the Ten Commandments at all. “The First Commandment alone makes clear why this religious code has no place on government property,” Line writes. “The government has no business telling residents which god they must have, how many gods they must have, or that they must have any god at all.”

Such displays, FFRF notes, needlessly exclude and marginalize the 26 percent of Texans who are atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” and the additional 6 percent who subscribe to non-Christian faiths. In fact, the “Nones,” as religiously unaffiliated Americans have been nicknamed, are neck and neck with the evangelical Protestants in Texas (comprising 27 percent) the monument is pandering to. At the national level, “Nones” are the largest sector by religious denomination at three-in-10 U.S. adults, outnumbering Roman Catholics, Christian evangelicals or any other single denomination.

FFRF has asked Tarrant County to remove the monument immediately and to confirm what steps it will take to remedy the constitutional violation and uphold the rights of all county residents, regardless of religious belief or or nonbelief.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with nearly 42,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including 1,800 members and a chapter in Texas. FFRF’s purposes are to defend the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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5th Circuit hears arguments in FFRF La. and Texas 10 Commandments cases

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in two cases today challenging state laws in Louisiana and Texas that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is part of a coalition representing the plaintiffs in both cases.

The cases, Rev. Roake v. Brumley and Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, raise fundamental questions about religious freedom and the separation of church and state guaranteed by the First Amendment. These arguments come nearly a year after a unanimous three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit ruled that Louisiana’s House Bill 71 is “plainly unconstitutional,” finding it directly contradicted long-standing Supreme Court precedent. That decision was vacated when the full court agreed to rehear the case. Federal courts in Texas have likewise issued multiple preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 10, concluding that the law violates students’ First Amendment rights by forcing government-endorsed religious scripture on public-school children.

The Louisiana plaintiffs in Roake v. Brumley are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. The Texas plaintiffs in Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District are represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.

The plaintiffs in both states are multifaith and nonreligious families who simply want their constitutional right to decide their children’s religious education respected by the government. They want their children’s public schools to remain welcoming and inclusive for their families and students of all backgrounds.

“I send my children to public school to learn math, English, science, art, and so much more — but not to be evangelized by the state into its chosen religion,” said Rev. Jeff Sims (he/him) from Louisiana. “These religious displays send a message to my children and other students that people of some religious denominations are superior to others. This is religious favoritism and it’s not only dangerous, but runs counter to my Presbyterian values of inclusion and equality.”

“No one faith should be canonized as more holy than others. Yet Texas legislators are imposing the Ten Commandments on public-school children,” said Rabbi Mara Nathan (she/her) from Texas. “Though they are a sacred text to me and many others, the Ten Commandments has no place on the walls of public-school classrooms. Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”

“The imposition of a particular religious teaching infringes the rights of students with minority beliefs and no belief,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor (she/her), co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “The Louisiana and Texas state governments cannot be allowed to ride roughshod over those who do not adhere to the dominant religion.”

“Public schools are meant to educate, not evangelize,” said Daniel Mach (he/him), director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “When the government mandates the display of a specific religious text in every classroom, it crosses a constitutional line by pressuring students and families to conform to the state’s preferred religious doctrine. The First Amendment protects the freedom of every family to decide matters of faith for themselves, and today’s arguments underscore why we must uphold that principle in our public schools.”

“We are proud to be in front of the 5th Circuit representing Texas families who are challenging forced Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms,” said Sarah Corning (she/her), attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “SB 10 is a blatant violation of our First Amendment rights and sends students the message that they only belong if they follow the government’s chosen religion. Texas schools are not Sunday schools, and the Constitution protects Texans’ right to decide how or whether they practice their faith. Texas families want and deserve better from our public schools.”

“We appreciate the court’s time and its thoughtful engagement during today’s argument. This case centers on a fundamental constitutional principle: Families — not the government — must retain the right to decide whether and how their children engage with religion,” said Jon Youngwood, co-chair of Simpson Thacher’s global litigation department. “The laws at issue disrupt that longstanding protection, and we look to the court to safeguard these core First Amendment guarantees.”

“Every federal court that’s ruled in these cases so far has said the same thing: Requiring public schools to display a state-mandated version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom is unconstitutional. We urge the 5th Circuit to affirm those rulings,” said Rachel Laser (she/her), president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Families — not politicians or public-school officials – get to decide how, if and when their children engage with religion.”

“Public schools exist to educate, not indoctrinate,” said Alanah Odoms (she/her), executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “They must remain spaces where all children are safe, free, and respected — regardless of their family’s beliefs. Religion is a personal choice, made by families, not something imposed by politicians through our public schools.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

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5th Circuit questions whether Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana classrooms establish a religion

Louisiana Illuminator
By Wesley Muller

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