New York high school forced to allow student to use Christian imagery in parking spot decoration after legal threat

A high school near Buffalo, New York, has reversed its decision and will now allow a senior student to include Bible verses in parking spot decoration after initially rejecting her design. The student brought a legal challenge against the school over their rejection of her religious expression.

Grand Island High School permits seniors to pay $50 to personalize their parking spaces with “positive artwork.” Student Sabrina Steffans submitted two designs featuring crosses and Bible verses from John 14:6 and Jeremiah 29:11, but school officials rejected them. They only approved a third version that was non-religious.

"I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain," Steffans explained to CBN. "And when I handed it in, they said… completely no to it because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said that wasn’t allowed."

"They finally agreed to… the last one, which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything," she added. 

Following her proposals being rejected, Steffans sought help from the legal group First Liberty, which sent a demand letter arguing that the school had violated her constitutional right to religious expression. Days later, the school reversed course and approved her original design.

"We are pleased the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design," senior counsel at First Liberty, Keisha Russell, said in a statement. "The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools."

Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham issued a statement disputing claims of rights violations but said the district ultimately allowed the design after consulting legal counsel.

"We also take seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment," Graham said. "While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the Board of Education and District leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design."