Education
By Katie Kresly
A father has filed a federal lawsuit against Highline Public Schools, alleging the district violated his daughter's constitutional rights by restricting her religious expression and later requiring her to remain at a mandatory school assembly that conflicted with her Christian beliefs.
The lawsuit was filed July 8 in U.S. District Court by the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) on behalf of Jonathan H. and his daughter, J.H. Highline Public Schools and Sylvester Middle School Vice Principal Lori McEwen are named as defendants.
The family is seeking damages and changes to district practices. The complaint also says this is the second dispute between the family and Highline over J.H.'s religious expression, pointing to a similar incident in 2022. The allegations have not been proven in court.
Highline Chief Communications Officer Tove Tupper told The Highline Journal the district has not yet been served with or received the lawsuit and will review the filing once it is received. She did not address questions about the district's current policies on student religious expression or religious accommodations.
Two incidents
The lawsuit centers on two incidents this year.
The first involves J.H.'s distribution of Christian gospel tracts during lunch and other non-instructional time.
According to the complaint, McEwen removed J.H. from class in February and told her she could no longer distribute the materials at school. The lawsuit alleges J.H. questioned why students could participate in anti-ICE demonstrations off campus while she was prohibited from distributing Christian gospel tracts. It also alleges McEwen responded that students could share opinions, but not religious beliefs.
The second incident centers on a mandatory Inclusion Assembly held May 29.
The complaint says students were required to attend without advance notice to parents or an opportunity to opt out. While the assembly covered several inclusion topics, including racial diversity, disability and women's rights, the lawsuit focuses on the portion addressing sexual orientation and gender identity.
J.H. alleges that part of the presentation conflicted with her family's Christian beliefs. According to the complaint, she became upset, asked to leave and was told by a teacher she had "no choice" but to remain.
The lawsuit also cites presentation slides that plaintiffs say encouraged students to become allies of the LGBTQIA+ community. Among the examples are references to social media personality Flawless Kevin, drag-related images, discussion of 72 gender identities, student "coming out" stories, and statements encouraging students to help create "a moral standard" in their community and "put people on notice" that targeting others would not be allowed.
Earlier dispute
The lawsuit says this was not the family's first conflict with Highline.
According to the complaint, while J.H. attended North Hill Elementary School in 2022, school staff prevented her from distributing religious materials, searched her backpack for those materials multiple times and sent her to the principal's office more than 10 times. The lawsuit says Highline later agreed in writing that she would be allowed to distribute religious materials at school.
Because the district says it has not yet been served with the complaint, it has not filed a response in court.
Editor's note: This is the first in The Highline Journal's coverage of the lawsuit. In the coming days, we'll take a closer look at Highline's published policies, the earlier 2022 dispute referenced in the complaint, and what happens next as the case moves through federal court.
ACLJ Complaint Filing for Christian Student v. Highline Public Schools | American Center for Law and Justice
Led by Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) focuses on constitutional and human rights law worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., with affiliated offices in Israel, Russia, France, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, the ACLJ is pro-life and dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights for all people. The ACLJ engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe.
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