Donald and Ellen Abramo filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday on behalf of their son, identified in legal documents as “J.A.,” against the Nazareth Area School District in Northampton County, Pa. The lawsuit alleges that J.A.’s constitutional rights were violated by a first grade teacher at Shafer Elementary School in Nazareth during a class “Friendship Day” party on Feb. 19, when the young boy attempted to pass out Valentine’s Day cards to his fellow classmates.
The school’s policy banning candy in class caused J.A. and his siblings to create Valentine’s Day cards with the message of St. Valentine written on the piece of paper. The message read: “Happy Valentine’s Day! St. Valentine was imprisoned and martyred for presiding over marriages and for spreading the news of God’s love. In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, I want you to know that God loves you!!!” It also included a reference to John 3:16, according to the lawsuit.
When J.A.’s teacher spotted the religious message on the cards, she reportedly brought the issue to the attention of the principal. She then removed the religious notes from J.A.’s Valentine’s Day cards, and the school principal later told the Abramo family that religious messages could not be distributed on campus during school hours.
The suit says that one of the boy’s siblings was able to hand out the cards to his third grade class because the teacher failed to notice the religious notes attached to each card.