NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ A federal appeals court has finished hearing arguments in the case of a suburban Dallas school district accused of banning Christmas messages and religious expression from the classroom.
Attorneys for the Plano Independent School District and a group of students presented their case Wednesday before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Religious rights group Liberty Legal Institute represents the students. They contend Plano school officials refused to let a student hand out candy canes with a religious message, stopped students from giving invitations to church events and banned writing Merry Christmas on cards for military members overseas.
An attorney for Plano schools did not immediately comment. He has previously said the school district believes each student has a right to religious expression and pointed out Plano has students of diverse religious beliefs.