War on Christmas Update: Merry Christmas Texas Project Protects Religious Freedom in Texas Public Schools

War on Christmas Update: Merry Christmas Texas Project Protects Religious Freedom in Texas Public Schools

Austin, TX— This Christmas season, Texas Values is continuing the tradition of the “Merry Christmas Texas” project, which empowers public schools and individuals to use their constitutional rights to freely acknowledge and educate students about Christmas.

In 2013, the Merry Christmas Law (H.B. 208), authored by State Representative Dwayne Bohac, officially became law with bipartisan support in the Texas Legislature. This law protects the religious liberty of children, parents, teachers, and school staff to acknowledge Christmas on school grounds without fear of censorship, persecution, or litigation. The ‘Merry Christmas Texas’ project was launched shortly after this bill was made law to continue to spread awareness on First Amendment rights.

Jonathan Saenz, President and Attorney of Texas Values, released the following statement:

“It is okay to say, ‘Merry Christmas’ in public schools. We hope less schools are naughty and more are nice towards Christmas this year. Christmas is a special time in Texas, and no one should be banning our kids, their parents, the teachers or staff from freely decorating, educating, and celebrating a belief in Jesus during the Christmas season.”

Christmas encompasses the story of Jesus Christ and has been recognized as a federal holiday in the United States since the 1870s. Yet, the 21st century has been filled with many ongoing attacks on the celebration, acknowledgement and education of Christmas, a federal holiday, in public schools. Our First Amendment rights guarantee that teachers and students have a right to celebrate and express their beliefs when it comes to Christmas greetings, decorations, and the meaning of the holiday.

Texas Values helped defend a Killeen school employee’s Christmas decoration that included a quote from the movie character “Linus” in the Charlie Brown Christmas case. The school district directed a public-school employee of Killeen ISD to take down her decoration while allowing other displays that represented other non-Christmas holidays to remain up. Texas Values and the Attorney General’s team defended the poster in court and won.

For more examples of how the Merry Christmas Texas Project has protected religious freedom in Texas public schools, visit our blog post, “Merry Christmas” Project Educates About First Amendment Rights.

If you want to learn more about the rights that teachers, staff members, parents and students have at Texas public schools when it comes to the topic of Christmas, visit MerryChristmasTexas.com for more information.

Support Christian Journalism

Freedom ​is Not Free! Free Speech is essential to a functioning Republic. The assault on honest, Christian Journalism and Media has taken a devastating toll over the last two years. Many Christian media outlets have not survived.

It is through your Generosity and Support that we are able to promote Free Speech and Safeguard our Freedoms and Liberties throughout our Communities and the Nation. Without your donations, we cannot continue to publish articles written through a Biblical worldview.

Please consider donating or subscribing today. A donation of any size makes a Big Difference. Thank you for your Support!

Katy and Fort Bend Christian Magazines

Katy and Fort Bend Christian Magazines have over fifteen years of experience in getting Christian-centered messages out to the Greater Houston area and national communities on issues of significant sociocultural and economic interest and represent the only suite of family-oriented publications of its kind in the Houston metropolitan region. As a gold standard in parachurch publications, Katy and Fort Bend Christian Magazines pride themselves on the values of enterprise, family, and truthfulness, and have helped foster a culture of fearless honesty, rigor of business and industry, and interconnected networking among the readership.