Suit: School district barred church party fliers

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Christian group is suing a northeastern Pennsylvania school district it says barred a fifth-grader from handing out fliers for a church Christmas party.

The Alliance Defense Fund sued the Pocono Mountain School District in federal court on Friday, claiming the student’s free speech rights were violated.

The Scranton Times-Tribune reports the suit claims the district permits students to hand out fliers for Halloween parties, Valentine’s dances and other events. But it says the girl was stopped from handing out invitations to a Christmas party at her church and ultimately was denied permission to do so by the district’s superintendent.

A phone message left for a district spokeswoman was not immediately returned this morning.

The suit seeks to have the district’s policies declared unconstitutional and nominal monetary damages.