January 1, Arkansas School Retreats on Student Speech After Outcry

Wyatt’s Take

• Governor Sanders forced a quick policy change at Arkansas Connections Academy.
• The virtual school reversed its ban on student faith-sharing after public pressure.
• Staff now face fresh religious liberty training to prevent future incidents.

Most folks in Arkansas call themselves Christian. Yet it took strong words from Governor Sanders to force a state school to let a student talk about his faith online.

Three hours after the governor announced an investigation, Arkansas Connections Academy gave in, agreeing to let student Zion Ramos speak about his beliefs at Social Time in the future, his lawyers said.

First Liberty Institute said the school agreed to respect students’ rights to free speech and faith, letting Ramos have three minutes to share in an upcoming session and promising staff retraining.

This unfolded after staff cut Ramos off from the Zoom call for talking about heaven and hell, while other students often discussed secular topics for much longer without being muted, according to his lawyers.

Social Time at the academy works like a digital lunch break, with kids chatting about current events and everyday life. The teacher had muted Ramos, told him he was using the time as a platform, and suggested he use the chat instead, but many students ignore the chat feature.

His lawyers said this action went against the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedents that protect student religious expression, warning that the school could lose federal funds if it didn’t comply with religious liberty laws.

The school says it is committed to protecting all student viewpoints and will make sure staff get proper training on balancing conversation while honoring free speech.

Executive Director Nicole Stephens said they are looking at new training to help teachers guide tough conversations respectfully and promised a quick response to the legal complaint.

Full story here

Wyatt Matters

Standing up for free speech and faith shouldn’t demand a fight with public schools. Families in the heartland know these rights come from God, not government, and will keep holding officials to account when they forget it.