Legal challenge seeks to protect a school board member’s right to quote the Bible

First Liberty Institute has filed a legal complaint on behalf of an Arizona school board member who was told she must stop reciting Bible verses during board meetings after anti-religion groups claimed it violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

Heather Rooks began her first term as a school board member in January after receiving the most votes in the history of the Peoria Unified School District. Rooks, a mother with four students in the school system, had the practice of reciting Bible verses at each meeting — that is, until anti-religious groups complained. After the February 9 board meeting, the legal director for Secular Communities for Arizona, Inc., an organization whose goal is to “ensure a secular state government,” submitted a complaint to the board, claiming that Rooks’ quoting of Scripture violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

The board’s legal counsel emailed the board members advising them not to continue sharing Bible verses, arguing that while they served as public officials any quoting of Scripture violates the First Amendment. Rooks continued to recite verses until the board received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) that threatened legal action against the Peoria Unified School board if they did not stop quoting Scripture.

First Liberty argues that Rooks’ quoting of Scripture is in keeping with the historical tradition of the United States, is protected speech, and in keeping with court precedent that affirms her right to express her views at the meetings.

First Liberty opened its complaint by referencing examples of U.S. Presidents who have quoted Scripture in their official capacity, including Joe Biden, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. “Heather Rooks isn’t a famous historical figure or a household name, but she too wants to be part of the longstanding tradition of government officials solemnizing public occasions in this way,” they argue.

The suit notes that the Arizona constitution expresses gratitude “to Almighty God” and Arizona legislative sessions begin with prayer.

First Liberty claims that Rooks does not comment on the verses or proselytize. She does not coerce anyone nor ask them to participate. They also cited Supreme Court precedent, including the recent case of Kennedy v. Bremerton, in which the justices ruled that a high school football coach could pray at midfield after games. In Kennedy, the Court wrote, “That the First Amendment doubly protects religious speech is no accident.”

First Liberty also referenced Bond v. Floyd and Wood v. Georgia, which found that public officials must be allowed to express their views on matters of public policy. The law firm argues that the district’s policy of disallowing Rooks to quote Bible verses regulates her speech on the basis of its content and viewpoint.

Andy Gould, senior counsel at First Liberty, said in a statement,

“Heather takes her responsibilities serving the parents and students in her community seriously, and quotes Bible verses as a source of courage and strength in performing those duties. Like so many dedicated public leaders throughout our history, Heather most certainly can use inspirational quotes from religious, historical, and philosophical sources and figures as a source of personal inspiration, as well as encouragement to the community at-large.”

Rooks also released a statement regarding the complaint, saying,

“I am grateful to be a part of the Peoria Unified School board.  As a member of the school board, I understand the weight and significance of all of our decisions, and simply find quoting scripture out loud to be encouraging to myself and to many in attendance.”

As the Freedom Center has explained recently, groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation don’t want to protect against the establishment of Christianity as the state religion, they want to establish their belief system as the state religion. Their hostility towards Christianity isn’t due to concern about religious freedom, but rather it shows that they hate any religion but their own, which is secular humanism.

The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that public officials do not check their faith at the door when they serve. A government official quoting a Bible verse is not coercion. It is a simple statement of their personal beliefs or even just a reference.

The FFRF and others show their true colors by only going after conservative Christians. In the last two years, we have seen leftist politicians routinely cite Bible verses to justify such issues as abortion, vaccine mandates, LGBTQ ideology, and even war, but the FFRF and other groups have remained silent.

Our Constitution protects the right of each and every individual to express their faith, both privately and publicly; it doesn’t protect adults from ever hearing someone else’s views. Hopefully, the court will honor our Constitution and the right of every person to exercise their religious freedom and freedom of speech — including conservative Christians.

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