ADDS 2 grafs at end, comments from Freedom From Religion Foundation; ADDS Web sites<
DELAFIELD, Wis. (AP) -- A second-grade student was publicly humiliated by her teacher and other school officials when they refused to let her give cards with religious messages to her classmates, her attorneys say.
Morgan Nyman' s parents, Jeff and Shanon Stockhausen, planned to file a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee against Cushing Elementary School and the Kettle Moraine School Board, said the Liberty Counsel, a conservative education and legal defense organization in Orlando, Fla.
Morgan gave out Halloween candy and cards last fall that contained religious messages. The school' s principal later confiscated the gifts after a teacher questioned them, the group said.
The school also would not let Morgan pass out Valentine' s Day cards with religious messages, the group said.
Some of the cards had Morgan' s name and a cross on them. Others had a frog with the message " F.R.O.G. -- Freely rely on God."
School officials said in a statement that distributing religious literature during class time is not allowed because it violates the separation of church and state.
Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement that children have constitutional rights at school.
" Even students in elementary school have constitutional rights, which include the right to freedom of speech, " he said.
Morgan' s parents could not be reached by The Associated Press for comment because they have an unlisted telephone number.
Annie Laurie Gaylor, who edits the newspaper of the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, said students have the right to pass out leaflets on the sidewalk outside of school, but passing out religious literature in the classroom is different.
" What clearly is going on is the parents are encouraging their child to proselytize classmates during school time and I think that' s very inappropriate, " she said.