Linus and Charlie Brown Expelled from TX School

[Bill]

Texas school gets in trouble with Ken Paxton over 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'

Julieta Chiquillo, The Dallas Morning News

A Charlie Brown Christmas — the classic TV special about childhood innocence and the true meaning of the holidays — has landed Texas school officials in the principal's office.

Despite a rebuke from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, administrators at Killeen ISD are defending their decision to tell a staffer to take down part of a poster of the character Linus reciting a Bible verse.

"Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and holiday season in the manner of their choosing," the district said Friday in a statement to KWTX-TV. "However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students."
A day earlier, Paxton had called on the school board to reverse the district's "unlawful decision," KWTX reported.

"No school official in Texas can silence a biblical reference to Christmas," Paxton said in a statement. "This is an attack on religious liberty and a violation of the First Amendment and state law."

Paxton is referring to the so-called Merry Christmas Law that Texas legislators passed in 2013. It removes legal risks from exchanging holiday greetings in classrooms and protects symbols such as Christmas trees, menorahs or Nativity scenes — that is, as long as more than one religion is represented and a secular symbol such as a snowman is displayed.

But Killeen ISD officials told KWTX that the law doesn't protect the poster because it requires that a display not encourage adherence to a particular religion.

Texas school gets in trouble with Ken Paxton over 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' | Education | Dallas News


The Merry Christmas Law was briefly summoned in North Texas three years ago. A Frisco school drew criticism after a parent volunteer emailed others to say that they had to stay clear from Christmas references and the colors green and red in planning for winter parties.

The matter was quickly resolved. Frisco ISD officials said at the time that there was no ban on Christmas references and that the parent's email had been taken out of context.

Texas school gets in trouble with Ken Paxton over 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' | Education | Dallas News

[Aerovette]

Stupidity continues unaffected.

[Mike Mercury]

[Bill]

Judge Orders School to Restore Charlie Brown Christmas Decorations

By Todd Starnes

A Texas school district learned a very important lesson Thursday: don’t mess with Charlie Brown, don’t mess with the Baby Jesus and don’t mess with the Lone Star State’s Merry Christmas law.

Judge Jack Jones issued a temporary restraining order against the Killeen Independent School District. The district had backed a principal’s decision to remove a Christmas poster that referenced a poignant scene in the beloved holiday cartoon, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

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Dedra Shannon, an aide in Patterson Middle School’s nurses office, created the door-length poster - featuring Linus, a scrawny tree, and dialogue explaining the true meaning of Christmas.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus said.

Dedra Shannon’s poster was well-received among the staff and students – but a few days later she was told by the principal that the decorations had to come down because non-Christian students might be offended or feel uncomfortable.

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Her father, a local minister, contacted me and the following day I wrote a story about the sad state of affairs at Patterson Middle School. Click here to read that story.

“Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and Holiday season in the manner of their choosing,” the district wrote in a statement. “However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students.”

Judge Jones said the poster must include the words: “Ms. Shannon’s holiday message,” the Killeen Daily Herald News reports.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the judge’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order.

“Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups,” Paxton said in a statement. “I am glad to see that the court broke through the Left’s rhetorical fog and recognized that a commitment to diversity means protecting everyone’s individual religious expression.”

Preach it, Mr. Attorney General! Amen!

Paxton said the school district’s decision to affirm the banning of the poster violated the Merry Christmas law. That law, passed in 2013, stipulates that no school official in Texas can silence a Biblical reference to Christmas. God bless Texas!

Johnston Saenz, the president of Texas Values, represented Ms. Shannon in court. He was grateful for the judge’s decision.

“Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like a court victory for religious freedom in December in public schools,” Saenz said in a statement.

He called Ms. Shannon a “brave and faithful woman.”

“This scenario is exactly why the Merry Christmas law was written - to protect teachers, staff and students in their expression of the Christmas season,” he said.

Well done, Ms. Shannon. Well done, Mr. Saenz. Well done, Attorney General Paxton. Well done, Judge Jones. And well done, good readers! I suspect your emails and telephone calls had a lot to do with drawing attention to this very important matter.

Merry Christmas, America!Judge Orders School to Restore Charlie Brown Christmas Decorations

By Todd Starnes

A Texas school district learned a very important lesson Thursday: don’t mess with Charlie Brown, don’t mess with the Baby Jesus and don’t mess with the Lone Star State’s Merry Christmas law.

Judge Jack Jones issued a temporary restraining order against the Killeen Independent School District. The district had backed a principal’s decision to remove a Christmas poster that referenced a poignant scene in the beloved holiday cartoon, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”


Dedra Shannon, an aide in Patterson Middle School’s nurses office, created the door-length poster - featuring Linus, a scrawny tree, and dialogue explaining the true meaning of Christmas.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus said.

Dedra Shannon’s poster was well-received among the staff and students – but a few days later she was told by the principal that the decorations had to come down because non-Christian students might be offended or feel uncomfortable.

Her father, a local minister, contacted me and the following day I wrote a story about the sad state of affairs at Patterson Middle School. Click here to read that story.

“Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and Holiday season in the manner of their choosing,” the district wrote in a statement. “However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students.”

Judge Jones said the poster must include the words: “Ms. Shannon’s holiday message,” the Killeen Daily Herald News reports.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the judge’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order.

“Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups,” Paxton said in a statement. “I am glad to see that the court broke through the Left’s rhetorical fog and recognized that a commitment to diversity means protecting everyone’s individual religious expression.”

Preach it, Mr. Attorney General! Amen!

Paxton said the school district’s decision to affirm the banning of the poster violated the Merry Christmas law. That law, passed in 2013, stipulates that no school official in Texas can silence a Biblical reference to Christmas. God bless Texas!

Johnston Saenz, the president of Texas Values, represented Ms. Shannon in court. He was grateful for the judge’s decision.

“Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like a court victory for religious freedom in December in public schools,” Saenz said in a statement.

He called Ms. Shannon a “brave and faithful woman.”

“This scenario is exactly why the Merry Christmas law was written - to protect teachers, staff and students in their expression of the Christmas season,” he said.

Well done, Ms. Shannon. Well done, Mr. Saenz. Well done, Attorney General Paxton. Well done, Judge Jones. And well done, good readers! I suspect your emails and telephone calls had a lot to do with drawing attention to this very important matter.

Merry Christmas, America!

Good news, but it's a shame it had to come to this. I mean, really.....a war on the Peanuts gang? WTF?

[Iron Chef]

Killeen. Another Texas shithole makes itself known for all the wrong reasons.

[DAB]

Don't rely on public schools to teach your children what they need to know.

[Ol Timer]

There's not a more radical evangelical symbol of Christmas than the Charlie Brown group! No wonder the school officials were concerned...

[Mike Mercury]

[stingraymyway]

I can't believe this stupidity is going on, in Texas, of all places.

[StaticCling]

I know the popular nomenclature is "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder", but it's more than that. It's a scourge. A Cancer.

[GentleBen]

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't read/seen where anyone other than the school administration itself objected to the poster and even then, did not immediately object. My understanding is that it was on the door for a couple of days before the Principal directed that it be removed.

If I am correct then this is the poster child of Political Correctness gone amuck. "Let's remove something, even if it is legal and complies with the law, before someone can complain about it."

Thank everyone who had a hand in overturning the craven PC attitude of the Principal and the District Board of Education that supported his decision.