Cumberland County halts Bible distribution to elementary schools

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Schools officials in Cumberland County are no longer allowing outside groups to leave Bibles in elementary schools.

That ruling from the school system’s attorney comes after the mother of a fifth grader complained about a stack of Bibles left in her son’s classroom. Geri Weaver filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

The ACLU argues that a past federal court case prohibits outside groups of providing Bibles to elementary school students. The ACLU says impressionable young students would think that the school was promoting the bible.

School system attorney David Phillips says he believes the issue could be argued, but he decided to suspend the practice in elementary schools.

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