UPDATE:
A Christian high school student from Colorado has won her fight for religious freedom after she says her school district blocked her from expressing her beliefs. The conflict centered around the school’s tradition of allowing seniors to “show their school spirit by painting their parking space.”
Initially, the school had rejected her faith-based proposal, but now First Liberty Institute reports they’ve backed down.
Rampart High School senior Sophia Shumaker is now allowed to re-paint her parking space with her original design that includes a Bible verse and religious images after the non-profit legal group sent a letter on her behalf explaining that she has a right to express her faith.
“The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools,” said Keisha Russell, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “We are encouraged that the school district will now allow students like Sophia to update their decorated spaces with religious themes for the remainder of the year, and we hope that it will make such a policy permanent so future students can enjoy the same opportunities.”
Shumaker originally requested to paint her space with a shepherd on a hill, a staff and a sheep, along with a Bible verse. School officials denied her request based on the school’s guidelines. Sophia eventually asked to put only 1 Corinthians 13:4 on her space but was told it would likely not be approved.
Now, the Academy District 20 has not only approved Shumaker’s design, but has also updated the district’s policy to “allow artwork based on a student’s viewpoint around topics such as religion.”
EARLIER REPORT:
First Liberty, a non-profit faith-based legal group, had sent a letter on behalf of Sophia Shumaker to her school and the school district, Academy School District 20. The Rampart High School senior is a believer in Christ who enjoys showing her faith through her artwork.
Her school, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, allows seniors, for a small fee, to reserve and decorate their school parking space as it “builds school spirit, beautifies [the] campus, and creates lasting memories,” First Liberty explained in a press release.
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And while the guidelines for the parking space outline that messaging cannot be “offensive, negative, rude, gang-related, political, religious, or trademarked images,” there are several schools within the district that do allow religious messages.
In August, Shumaker requested to paint her space with religious imagery, along with a Bible verse. School officials denied her request based on the school’s guidelines. She eventually asked to put only 1 Corinthians 13:4 on her space, but was told it would likely not be approved.
The letter explains that Shumaker came up with a third design because she was afraid her previous design “would be rejected and she would forfeit her spot.”
“While Rampart High School bans religious messages on the parking spots as a matter of policy and practice, several schools throughout Academy School District 20 allow religious messages,” attorneys with First Liberty wrote in the letter.
“The district’s inconsistent policies demonstrate that the seniors’ messages on the parking spots in Academy School District 20, including those at Rampart, are private speech, not government speech. Therefore, the district cannot deny Ms. Shumaker’s private, religious speech without violating the First Amendment,” it continued.
First Liberty argued that the district’s denial of Shumaker’s parking space submissions violated her First Amendment protections.
“It is unconstitutional for the school to reject Sophia’s parking space design due to its religious imagery,” said Keisha Russell, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “The Constitution protects private, religious speech—even when it occurs on public school property. The school’s policy violates both the Free Speech Clause and the Free Exercise Clause because it targets Sophia’s speech because of its religious viewpoint.”
First Liberty is demanded that staff at Rampart High School rescind the prohibition of the religious references by permitting her to “repaint her space with the shepherd, staff, and sheep, with the scripture reference ‘1 Corinthians 13:4’ to her parking space and agree to fully rescind Rampart’s unconstitutional policy” by October 31, 2025.
Additionally, First Liberty is recommended that the district provide Rampart’s staff with training on how the First Amendment applies in schools.
A spokesperson for AcademyDistrict 20 told CBN News Tuesday while the school district could not “comment on potential legal matters,” they did update their guidelines to allow students to incorporate religious themes into their parking spaces.
“Over the last week, we looked closely at our current guidelines and how they’ve been applied
from school to school,” read their statement. “For the remainder of the school year, schools will allow artwork based on a student’s viewpoint around topics such as religion, as long as the design follows the rules below and doesn’t disrupt
the school day.”
