According to the member's lawsuit, she was accused of foisting her 'personal religious beliefs upon district parents and community members'
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An Arizona school board member is suing her board for mandating she stop quoting the Bible during meetings.
Heather Rooks has filed a lawsuit with the First Liberty Institute (FLI) against the Peoria Unified School District after it instructed her to stop quoting the Bible during board meetings at the request of its legal counsel.
According to the school board member’s lawsuit, the board violated Brook’s right to free speech with the instruction.
Brooks claimed the school justified curtailing her Bible quoting by claiming she was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
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An Arizona school board member sued the Peoria Unified School Board for barring her from reciting from the Bible at school board meetings. (Getty)
After the Arizona resident became a member of the PUSD school board in 2022, she began reciting scripture during her opening statements at meetings. Various activist groups complained about her quoting from the Bible.
A statement First Liberty provided to FOX News Digital said, "Since the beginning of her public service on the board, Ms. Rooks has opened her comments by quoting a short scripture from the Bible. The Peoria School Board subsequently received letters from anti-religious organizations demanding it stop Ms. Rooks from reading scripture."
In one instance that happened last February, Rooks recited Isaiah 41:10, saying, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
The lawsuit alleged that after that meeting, activist group Secular Communities for Arizona, made a complaint to the school board, claiming that Rooks was performing "unconstitutional proselytizing."
As a result of the complaint, the board’s legal counsel Lisa Anne Smith sent a letter to the board informing its members that they "couldn’t pray or recite scripture during Board meetings."
Another activist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation threatened to take legal action against the board, saying that Rooks was "using her position on the board to foist her personal religious beliefs upon district parents and community members."
Several secular groups like the Secular Communities for Arizona and the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained about Rooks citing Scripture during school board meetings. (iStock)
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The board member continued to cite the Bible until this past August, when the board’s chair "instructed Ms. Rooks to stop quoting scripture during meeting time specifically set aside for board members to comment on any topic they choose," the lawsuit alleged.
Rooks then filed the suit, which claimed that her "practice accords with over 200 years of this Nation’s historical practices and understandings."
The suit added, "Public officials from Presidents Washington and Lincoln up through President Biden routinely recited scriptures while performing their official duties."
"Heather takes her responsibilities serving the parents and students in her community seriously, and quotes Bible verses as a source of courage and strength in performing those duties. Like so many dedicated public leaders throughout our history, Heather most certainly can use inspirational quotes from religious, historical, and philosophical sources and figures as a source of personal inspiration, as well and encouragement to the community at-large," First Liberty senior counsel Andy Gould defended Rooks in a statement.
Included in the statement was a quote from Rooks, who said, "I am grateful to be a part of the Peoria Unified School board. As a member of the school board, I understand the weight and significance of all of our decisions, and simply find quoting scripture out loud to be encouraging to myself and to many in attendance."
PUSD told FOX News Digital on Wednesday it "has not officially been served as of this afternoon."
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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
