The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of a high school cheerleading squad on Friday that is seeking to continue with its lawsuit for the right to display banners with religious content at football games.
The cheerleaders would hold up banners with verses such as Hebrews 12:1, part of which says, "... and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us," and 1 Corinthians 15:57, which says, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
In 2012, the Kountze Independent School District banned the cheerleading squad from having Biblical quotes and other religious messages on the banners displayed at football games after Wisconsin-based anti-religion group Freedom From Religion Foundation threatened to sue the district. The cheerleaders then filed a lawsuit of their own against the district.
In 2013, the Kountze District removed its ban on the banners. The 9th Texas Court of Appeals threw the case out, reasoning that a ruling was unnecessary because the school district was now allowing the messages on the banners.
The Texas Supreme Court ruling on Friday would allow for the cheerleaders to continue with their lawsuit, sending the case back to the appeals court, essentially overruling the lower court's decision.
The high court's ruling sought to protect the right to display religious banners in the future, according to the opinion.
"The District no longer prohibits the cheerleaders from displaying religious signs or messages on banners at school-sponsored events," Justice John Devine wrote in the opinion. "But that change hardly makes "absolutely clear' that the District will not reverse itself after this litigation is concluded."
