A high school senior in Tennessee was punished with an in-school suspension for saying “Bless you” after a classmate sneezed, CNN reports via WJLA-TV.
(Andrew Beresford via Flickr)
Some facts are in dispute, but Kendra Turner was sent to the office and ended the day in an in-school suspension. Technically, she admits she broke a posted class rule, but she also claims those rules are unconstitutional in that they violate her First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion.
As for the details that are in dispute, in a light most favorable to the school, Kendra shouted “Bless you” to her classmate across the room and disrupted the class. The teacher has displayed a list of class rules on a whiteboard, and ‘bless you’ is one of a few banned expressions. In asserting her rights of free speech and freedom of religion, Kendra was overly aggressive.
In a light most favorable to Kendra, the teacher, who wasn’t identified, suppressed Kendra’s free speech and freedom of religion rights. She was quoted as saying, “We’re not going to have godly speaking.” Kendra’s youth pastor said, “There were several students who were talking about this particular faculty member there that was very demeaning to them in regard to their faith.”
“It’s all right to defend God and it’s our constitutional right because we have a freedom of religion and freedom of speech,” Kendra was quoted as saying.