The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to learn that it has persuaded a Kentucky school system to protect the First Amendment rights of elementary school students.

A concerned parent reported that on Sept. 16, 3 Heath Brothers, a Christian boy band, performed for all students, including those as young as 6 years old, at Breathitt Elementary School (in Jackson, Ky.) for a school-sponsored assembly. Parents reportedly received no notice about the religious assembly.

Additionally, 3 Heath Brothers distributed a “Keys for Kids” devotional pamphlet at the assembly. Keys for Kids is a youth ministry organization that exists “to ignite a passion for Christ in kids, teens and families worldwide.” The 100-page pamphlet includes explicitly religious stories with references to bible verses, promotion of a religious podcast and solicitation of donations. For example, the booklet tells students, “Lots of kids don’t know they need Him to be saved from sin,” and instructs that such kids “need someone to tell them — and Jesus may want you to be that person.” Another example states, “It’s good to do your best and recognize your abilities, but never forget that you have no reason to be proud. It’s God — not you — who is the source of all good gifts.” 

The parent reported that their child believed the pamphlet is a storybook their parents should read to them, which required the parent to discuss religion with their child before they were ready. The parent had a timeline and curriculum for exploring religion with their child, but instead was forced into having this conversation due to the school’s actions.

FFRF notes that this is not the first time the 3 Heath Brothers band has abused a school-sponsored platform to push their religious agenda. Students at a North Carolina school similarly received Keys for Kids devotional pamphlets and were forced to listen to nine songs with Christian messages. After FFRF informed the North Carolina district of the violation, its legal counsel provided guidance to the board of education regarding the distribution of religious material. 

FFRF’s letter to the Kentucky school system offered sound constitutional advice.

“Elementary students cannot legally or practically be expected to dissent and leave what appeared to be a mandatory school assembly in order to resist their school violating their constitutional rights,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte R. Gude wrote to Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Phillip Watts. “Further, the school violated parents’ First Amendment right to determine which faith, if any, they teach their children to believe.”

Thankfully, the district acted quickly and appropriately in response.

Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Phillip Watts emailed a reply the day after FFRF’s Sept. 22 letter, outlining a plan of action to correct the violation. “Our [b]oard attorney will provide training and guidance for school administrators on issues relating to speakers/performers for student assemblies and events and on material distribution to students by outside groups,” Watts wrote, adding that the training would be occurring within 30 days of his writing.

While FFRF is satisfied with the resolution, it warns that the 3 Heath Brothers are engaging in a troubling pattern.

“The 3 Heath Brothers seem to be perfectly pleased to make a mess for school districts with deceptive promises of assemblies before pushing dogma onto impressionable students,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor states. “We’ve seen them act without concern for the rights of children and their parents, forcing a difficult topic onto one family before they were ready. This band of brothers needs a firm lesson on the constitutional right to be free from religious coercion at schools.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 42,000 members nationwide, including over 300 members in Kentucky. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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