ACLU warns Ohio school on Bible giveaway

FINDLAY, Ohio, May 30 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union says it warned an Ohio school district it is illegal to allow students to leave school to take part in a Bible giveaway.

The ACLU sent a letter to the Findlay City Schools Thursday that said while the Gideons were within their rights to pass out New Testaments to the students off campus, it wasn't proper for the kids to leave class during school hours under escort from school employees.

"By agreeing to the Gideons' request, pulling them out of class, and walking them over to receive these Bibles, the school crossed the line," ACLU attorney Carrie Davis told the Toledo (Ohio) Blade.

One school principal told the Blade that no student is pressured into taking part and he has received few complaints from parents over the five years the Gideons program has taken place.

Davis countered that legal precedent leaves religious upbringing in the hands of parents rather than public schools.