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Students and parents tell commission they were censored or pressured over religious expression in schools
Summary
At a White House‑appointed commission hearing, students and parents gave first‑person accounts of school actions they said curtailed religious speech — from a third‑grader told to remove a mask reading “Jesus loves me” to valedictorian speeches and talent‑show songs — and legal advocates urged federal opt‑out protections and reporting tied to education funding.
At a hearing of the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., students and parents delivered personal testimony alleging that public‑school officials removed or pressured religious expression and that districts sometimes retaliated against families who complained.
Nine‑year‑old Lydia Booth recounted being told by a school official to remove a face mask that read “Jesus loves me,” then learning her assistant superintendent had provided an altered COVID restart plan the district used to justify the ban. Lydia said her family sued and the district later settled; she told…
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