Texas judge orders Charlie Brown Christmas display restored
The Christmas sign at the center of brewing controversy at Killeen ISD will go back up. On Thursday, Bell County 146th District Court Judge Jack Jones ordered that Dedra Shannon be allowed to restore the sign at Charles Patterson Middle School with the words “Ms. Shannon’s Christmas Message” added to it.
The Patterson Middle School staffer had put up the door-length sign on December 5th as a holiday decoration. It depicts the cartoon character Linus and a direct quote from the 1965 Charles Schultz cartoon movie, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.
Citing separation of “church and state” Patterson Principal Kara Trevino instructed Shannon to remove the word “Christ” from the sign or take the sign down entirely.
On Monday, Texas Values’ President, attorney Jonathan Saenz announced his legal representation of Shannon. Saenz sent a letter to Killeen ISD outlining the First Amendment and Texas’ Merry Christmas law,
In a statement on Monday, Saenz added, “Banning historical and religious expressions about Christmas shows hostility to religion that must be stopped. It’s amazing that even a quote from ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas’ is not even safe for some overzealous or misguided government officials. This current national controversy about Christmas is what the Merry Christmas law was designed to prevent when it was passed in 2013. Had Killeen ISD officials simply followed the law and been tolerant and respectful of the diversity of their staff, this incident would not have happened.”
On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Killeen ISD, reaffirming Shannon’s First Amendment Rights.
The Killeen ISD Board of Trustees took the matter up at their meeting. More than a half dozen speakers voiced their opinion in favor of Shannon being allowed to display the sign. The Board however voted 6-1 for a motion instructing the Administration to further review the policy for winter decorations. The motion also included “no further action” to be taken on the sign.
“I didn't feel like the poster violated the Constitution or based on what I read from the Attorney General or publications that it did not violate the Constitution and in fact may have violated the Merry Christmas L,” says board President Terry Delano. He was the only member of the board to vote against banning Shannon’s sign. “I believe that we have come to a place in our nation where we are taking Christ out of everything and in this case the very word Christmas and it concerns me that someday we won't even be able to say that,” he added after the vote.
Late Wednesday Saenz sued Killeen ISD on behalf of Shannon. On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit on top of Saenz’s, “intervening” on behalf of the state.
Saenz petitioned Bell County for an emergency hearing as Killeen ISD’s winter break starts at noon on Friday. Bell County 146th District Court Judge Jack Jones granted the hearing. Saenz argued on behalf of Shannon that Killeen was violating her rights by not letting her put the sign back up, especially, as Saenz says, that other teachers and staffers had Christmas decorations up too.
A lawyer for Killeen ISD asked Judge Jones to grant the district more time to review the policy. He also argued that Texas’ “Merry Christmas” law doesn’t have specifics on rights regarding decorations. He did acknowledge, however, that Shannon was not an “outlier” in putting up holiday decorations, as other staffers and teachers have put up decorations too.
Without leaving the bench, Judge Jones ordered the sign be restored, with the caveat that “Ms. Shannon’s Christmas Message” be added to the same in the same size as the lettering of the quote.
“From the beginning it was clear that the content of the poster that referenced religion was actually targeted by the school,” Saenz said outside of the courthouse, adding, “and so we brought that evidence and that concern to the court today. Because if you allow people to speak in a public school, if you allow a staff member to put up decorations as they do in Killeen, but then say that the ones that relate to religion are not allowed, that’s a violation of federal law, state law. And that’s why we go the victory today that allows the poster to be put back up where it belongs.”
Cameras were not allowed in the court room and as lawyers for Killeen ISD were leaving, they declined to comment. But the Killeen ISD Administration sent the following statement to Fox 7:
“Christmas and winter celebrations and messages are important to our community. The board's actions taken on Tuesday directing district administration to develop guidelines for employees underscore the board's commitment to this effort. Despite these efforts we found ourselves in court this afternoon.
Bell County 146th District Court ruled in order for the door covering to be displayed at Charles Patterson Middle School, the following text must be added in letters as large as the other letters. "Ms. Shannon's Christmas Message."
No other relief was granted.
We believe that directing the individual to include the additional text better complies with state and federal law. We support this decision.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also issued a statement in response to Judge Jack Jones’ ruling:
“Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups. 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.”