华盛顿州埃弗里特学区达成和解：将公开道歉并支付27.5万美元律师费 此前要求学生把圣经装进密封信封
华盛顿州埃弗里特学区（Everett School District）已就一桩诉讼达成和解：学区将修改涉及宗教活动的相关政策、学区董事会成员接受宗教自由培训、在学区网站上公开发布书面道歉并保持六个月，并支付27.5万美元律师费。和解消息于10月14日由提起诉讼一方的LifeWise Academy宣布，10月16日经多家媒体报道。
LifeWise Academy是一家以私人资金运营的机构，在家长许可下，于上课时间在校外为公立学校学生提供自愿参加的圣经品格教育。代表该机构及一名家长与工作人员提起诉讼的第一自由研究所（First Liberty Institute）等表示，学区此前出台的限制专门针对该项目：包括把LifeWise排除在社区活动与传单展示之外、要求家长每周重新提交一次许可单，以及要求学生把在项目中领到的材料、包括圣经，装进密封信封带回学校。今年4月，一名联邦法官已就学区政策发出初步禁令。
LifeWise首席执行官乔尔·彭顿表示，这份和解是埃弗里特家庭的胜利，家长与学生无论宗教信仰如何都应受到尊重；该机构将继续在当地提供圣经品格教育。第一自由研究所高级法律顾问斯蒂芬妮·陶布表示，宗教歧视在公立学校没有立足之地。（GSM 据LifeWise Academy、First Liberty Institute发布及《纽约邮报》报道）
Washington's Everett School District to Apologize and Pay $275,000 in Settlement Over Bible Program Restrictions
The Everett School District in Washington state has reached a settlement requiring it to change policies governing religious activities, provide religious liberty training for its Board of Directors, post a public written apology on the district's website for six months, and pay $275,000 in attorney's fees. The settlement was announced Oct. 14 by LifeWise Academy, which brought the lawsuit, and reported by national outlets on Oct. 16.
LifeWise Academy provides optional, privately funded Bible-based character education to public school students during school hours; classes take place off school property and require parental permission. According to First Liberty Institute and co-counsel, who filed the suit on behalf of a LifeWise parent and staff member, the district's restrictions singled out the program: it was excluded from community events and flyer displays, families were required to submit burdensome weekly parental reauthorization, and students were required to keep materials received at LifeWise, including Bibles, sealed in envelopes in their backpacks. In April, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the district.
'Parents and students deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of their religious beliefs,' said LifeWise CEO Joel Penton, calling the settlement a welcome victory for Everett families. Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said religious discrimination has no place in public schools. (GSM, based on statements by LifeWise Academy and First Liberty Institute and reporting by the New York Post)
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：一摞圣经（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: A stack of Bibles (file photo). Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
