High school student banned from painting her paid parking spot takes legal win with backing from the First Amendment

A HIGH school student who was banned from painting her own parking spot has taken a huge legal win – backed by the First Amendment.

Sabrina Steffans from Buffalo, New York, was initially banned from painting her bay with Bible verses and crosses – despite paying for the right to decorate it.

CBN News

Sabrina Steffans was banned from painting her school parking bay with Bible verses and crosses[/caption]

CBN News

A legal intervention by First Liberty, a religious liberty group, helped her force the school into reversing its decision[/caption]

Google

The group then sent a demand letter to the school, asserting her constitutional right to include religious elements in her parking spot[/caption]

But according to CBN, a legal intervention by First Liberty, a religious liberty group, helped her force the school into reversing its decision, allowing her to proceed with her original design.

Steffans had submitted three designs, two of which included religious symbols and verses.

But her school, Grand Island High School, rejected the two Christian-themed designs and only approved a non-religious one.

After the rejection, Steffans sought help from First Liberty who argued that her First Amendment rights to religious expression were being violated.

The group then sent a demand letter to the school, asserting her constitutional right to include religious elements in her parking spot decoration.

“I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain,” Steffans told CBN.

“And when I handed it in, they said… completely no to it because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said wasn’t allowed.”

She added: “They finally agreed to… the last one, which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything.”

But following the legal challenge, the school district reconsidered and decided to allow Steffans to use her original design featuring Bible verses and crosses.

“We are pleased the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” Keisha Russell, senior counsel at First Liberty, said in a press release.

“The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”

The district superintendent, Brian Graham, stated that the decision was made after consulting legal counsel and emphasized the district’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment while respecting constitutional principles.

In a statement, Graham wrote: “We also take seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment.

“While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the Board of Education and District leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”

The district also announced plans to review its parking space decoration policies for potential changes.

Elsewhere, a new gas station is facing major backlash as residents fear the crowds it could attract after it takes over a historic site.

The gas station is also being built just feet from a school, leading residents to worry about their children’s safety.

Zoning notices have been posted throughout the property, now designating it as a retail and commercial area.

It was once the site of a pre-Civil War structure called McAfee house that was moved to a different location earlier this year.

The zoning ordinance would allow builders to remove the trees in the field and replace the green space with a Racetrack gas station.

If built, the community worries that there may be oil spills and other environmental issues.

Neighbors could be seen picketing near the field, holding signs that opposed the new changes.