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Orange County, FL - Students in Orange County, Florida, experienced the "free exercise of religion" on Religious Freedom Day 2013. Citing Liberty Counsel's 2010 case on behalf of World Changers, school officials allowed the Christian group to distribute Bibles to students inside 11 Orange County High Schools.

For many years, World Changers has provided free Bibles to interested students by placing them on tables where students could voluntarily pick one up during noninstructional time on Religious Freedom Day. In 2009, Collier County School Officials in South Florida banned the Bible distribution, claiming that Bibles do not provide any educational benefit to the students and violate the so-called separation of church and state. Liberty Counsel filed suit, and in November 2010, a federal judge approved a Consent Decree that overturned the Collier County School Board decision and allowed the voluntary distribution of Bibles to high school students on Religious Freedom Day.

Based on that ruling, the Orange County School District allowed Bibles to be placed on tables in student areas including lobbies and cafeterias.

"The First Amendment does not tolerate discrimination against private religious viewpoints because of a mythical wall of separation between church and state," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "Equal access means equal access for all viewpoints, including religious viewpoints."

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
 

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