Associated Press

11/6/03

Principal objects to Christian t-shirts in yearbook

Eleven students walked out of Fountain High School after their principal asked them not to wear T-shirts spelling out "Jesus is the way" and "Jesus 'heart' U," in their senior yearbook photo.

Principal Ted Reid asked the students to rearrange themselves, turn around or stand in the back when they arrived for the photo shoot. After trying to compromise with the administrator the students walked out.

The students say their First Amendment rights were violated, but the school said it has a federally outlined responsibility to separate church and state.

"We wanted to express how important Christianity is in our lives," said Alex Lopez, 17. "We weren't trying to impose our beliefs on others."

The nonprofit Pacific Justice Institute sent a demand to the Huntington Beach Union High School District six days after the Oct. 21 incident demanding that the school reassemble the 650-member senior class and retake the picture with the students' message intact.

The district's legal counsel planned to respond by Friday to the allegations that the student's constitutional rights were violated, school officials said.