Kansas school guidance counselor tells students Jesus, Charlie Kirk, Trump cannot be used in role model assignment: lawsuit

Students in sixth grade in Kansas were told they could not use President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, or Jesus Christ in an assignment that asked them to name role models in their lives, according to a new lawsuit filed by a parent and child against the school. 

The incident took place at Marshall Elementary School in Eureka, Kansas, according to a complaint that recently came to light filed by the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ). Students were told not to tell their parents about what took place after a school counselor named Kacey Countryman assigned them to do a “Find Your Voice” project, where they named their role model, according to a letter from the ACLJ sent to the DOJ.

The ACLJ is representing a child as well as a parent who is involved in the case, according to Fox 8.

The letter from ACLJ to the DOJ alleges that Countryman participated in religious discrimination by “prohibiting students from identifying religious figures as role models while permitting and even encouraging students to identify secular role models for a school assignment” as well as viewpoint discrimination by “prohibiting students from identifying conservative political figures as role models while permitting other political figures and politically-active athletes.”

"By prohibiting students from identifying religious figures (including Jesus Christ) as role models while permitting secular role models, the school engaged in discrimination based on religious viewpoint," the letter stated. 

Marshall Elementary School Principal Stacy Coulter provided a statement but did not address the incident in detail.

“We are aware of this incident and are always working with families and our school staff to make sure every learning activity is a positive and encouraging experience for every student,” Coulter said. “We are unable to comment on the individuals involved because of our commitment to the privacy of our students and employees. This information is also protected by confidentiality laws.”

The letter from ACLJ stated, “When a student identified Charlie Kirk as a role model, Ms. Countryman got very uncomfortable and refused to allow this name to be written on the board, yelling that he was ‘not a hero,’ and that he was not a role model. The student teacher had already started writing Charlie Kirk’s name on the board, and was ordered by Ms. Countryman to remove it. When another student selected President Donald J. Trump as a role model, Ms. Countryman reiterated her prohibition even more angrily, stating that students could not write political or religious figures on the board, and in fact excluded political and religious topics altogether. However, Ms. Countryman permitted other controversial figures to be listed as heroes. The names of football players (including those who have engaged in political activism) were permitted on the board. The names of classmates were also permitted. No restriction was placed on potentially controversial secular figures. Only religious and political figures were excluded. Children were allowed to list these figures in their written assignments, but were prohibited from acknowledging the names of religious or political heroes publicly on the board.”

The letter further alleged that Coulter, the principal, “defended the teacher’s actions” when the parent of the child went to meet with the administrators at the school. They argued that the assignment needed to be “inclusive” as well as “neutral” by “prohibiting political and religious figures from being discussed.”

“When confronted with the contradiction—that excluding certain viewpoints is the opposite of inclusive—the administrators doubled down, arguing that allowing such discussions would create an ‘unsafe’ environment,” the letter further stated.