PEORIA — Peoria Unified School Board Member Heather Rooks is suing one of the largest districts in Arizona over citing bible verses during school board meetings.
On June 8th, Rooks read, "Ephesians 6:13. 'Therefore put on every piece of God's armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in time of evil.’”
Minutes later, Melissa Ewing, Peoria Unified School Board member, reminded the board, “The advice has been given to all the board that we are not supposed to be reading verses."
But Rooks says reading scripture is her First Amendment, freedom of speech right.
In July, the district's attorney, sent a legal opinion to board members saying citing bible verses, violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Andrew Gould, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute said, “The idea that the Establishment Clause prevents public officials from citing the Bible, is just wrong. It's never been the law. And that's never been the history or tradition of this country."
On July 13th, Rooks refrained from reciting bible verses after receiving the district’s letter.
Josh Gray, a parent at the district says Rooks' actions are a distraction.
"I'm a big believer in the separation of church and state. I'm myself a Christian," Gray said. "We're a public school institution. We're not a private Christian school. There should be no need for you to quote scripture during public school meetings."
Grays believes Rooks' bible verses are to improve her political brand.
Rooks said, “This is not a political career jump. This is wanting to recite those verses to give me that strength so that I can make those best decisions as a board member."
Rooks reiterated to ABC15 that she will pause offering scripture until the case is sorted out.
"It kind of saddens me a bit,” Rooks said. “I'm thankful for my attorneys, but it just saddens me that we're in this wonderful country, America, and that we can't have our First Amendment rights protected."
We reached out to the district for comment. They would only tell ABC15 Wednesday afternoon they hadn't been officially served with the lawsuit and did not have further comment.
