Kansas Principal Who Gave Bibles to Students Violated Constitution, ACLU Says

This article was originally published in Kansas Reflector.

TOPEKA — A Kansas elementary school principal who invited an evangelical Christian missionary to pass out Bibles to students during their recess in May violated the First Amendment, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas warned Monday in a letter to the district.

Katie Struebing, the principal of East Elementary School in the roughly 2,000-person city of Belleville, invited a member of the evangelical Christian organization Gideons International, Ben Dreesen, to hand out Bibles to students during recess on May 7, wrote Monica Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, in the Monday letter. Gideons International is often credited with the introduction of Bibles to American hotel rooms.

Ahead of Dreesen’s visit, Struebing told staff that she would visit classrooms at the roughly 250-student school to inform students of “the nice man” handing out Bibles, according to the letter . A student’s parents informed the ACLU about Dreesen’s visit.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

Bennett wrote that Struebing allowed Dreesen on school grounds during school hours, accompanied him while he passed out Bibles to students and involved fellow school district staff in the matter. The principal lent her “credibility and authority” to Dreesen, “in effect placing a stamp of approval on his message and subjecting students to a religiously coercive atmosphere,” Bennett wrote.

Plus, the principal violated the Republic County school district’s own policy, which states that district employees aren’t allowed to use classrooms to “promote or convey” religious viewpoints, Bennett wrote.

The goal of the letter was “to educate and remind the principal and the school district what’s required with respect to separation of church and state,” Bennett told Kansas Reflector.

The First Amendment and U.S. court decisions require neutrality from government institutions when it comes to establishing or favoring a religion or nonreligion.

Struebing declined to comment, directing the Reflector’s inquiry to the school district superintendent, Tami Knedler, who did not respond.

This is at least the second incident in Kansas this year involving Bible distribution to students in public schools. In April, Butler County school district employees informed parents they intended to invite Gideon missionaries to hand out Bibles to Bluestem Elementary School students, according to the letter. District officials gave parents the option of excusing their children from the visit if they provided signed permission slips.

“After receiving criticism, including from Christian parents, invoking the First Amendment separation of church and state clause, the district walked back the decision,” Bennett wrote.

The public is aware of the law when it comes to religion in public schools, so school officials ought to be aware of the law as well, Bennett told the Reflector. In the letter, she referenced a 2021 study and a 2019 survey that indicated the majority of Americans do not believe public schools should be influencing religious beliefs.

“It’s important to point out that our laws recognize the rights of individuals to worship, or not worship, according to their own conscience, and they have the right to pass on whatever their beliefs are onto their children,” Bennett said.

School districts should respect that, she said.

“The ACLU of Kansas strongly discourages you from welcoming missionaries on school grounds to distribute Bibles in the future,” the letter said.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com . Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and X .