Grand Island High School, in Grand Island, New York, has a fun tradition that allows seniors, for a $50 fee, to reserve and decorate their parking space. The purpose, it states, is “to encourage students to express themselves through positive artwork, to beautify the campus, to build school spirit, and to create a new and exciting tradition to support Senior Class activities and events.”

But school officials put a damper on school spirit when rising senior Sabrina Steffans submitted a design for her parking spot. They rejected her design because it contained a Bible verse.

Sabrina submitted a design to the school in May that included a cross, the phrases “God is love” and “He loves you,” and a quotation from John 14:6, according to a letter sent to the school district Aug. 12 by the First Liberty Institute law firm on Sabrina’s behalf.

According to the letter, two assistant principals told Sabrina that her design was inappropriate and that none of it would be approved. They said the cross could only be included if it were “disguised as a ‘t.’” When Sabrina asked why the school had previously allowed her to include Scripture references on posters for the Bible Club that she leads, one assistant principal replied, “I just let that one slide.”

Sabrina submitted a second design on June 9 that included the phrase “let your light shine,” substituting a cross for the letter “t” in “Light.” She also included the phrase “His will his way his life,” and the Scripture reference Jeremiah 29:11, without directly quoting the verse.

The school rejected that design, too, saying Sabrina would need to remove the Scripture reference and the phrase “His will his way his life.”

An assistant principal told her that the phrase “He is King” would be acceptable, so Sabrina submitted a third design that retained the phrase “Let your light shine” and added “He is King” but removed the Scripture reference. That design was finally approved.

But because of the censoring of Biblical references, First Liberty sent its letter explaining that the school’s actions have violated Sabrina’s First Amendment rights and that numerous Supreme Court decisions support her right to express her religious beliefs in a public school.

“Any restrictions on expression for the parking space design activity must not discriminate on the basis of viewpoint,” the letter states. “But here, the school’s denial of Ms. Steffans’ designs containing references to Scripture constitutes viewpoint discrimination because it prohibits specific religious messages while permitting a wide variety of secular speech.”

The letter requests that the school rescind the prohibitions on Scripture references by Aug. 14, due to the imminent completion deadline for the parking space design activity, but allowing more time if the school will grant Sabrina a deadline extension while they consider the matter.

“Otherwise,” the letter concludes, “Ms. Steffans and her parents have authorized us to seek all remedies in law and equity under the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes, including attorney fees and, due to the clearly established constitutional rights that are being violated, personal liability of the officials involved.”

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