Giovanni Rubeo, a 12-year-old student at Park Lakes Elementary School, was told to not read the Bible at school and his family is demanding an apology.
Rubeo was ordered to call his parents.
As the other students watched, the teacher left a message on the family’s answering machine.
“I noticed that he has a book – a religious book – in the classroom,” she said on the recording. “He’s not permitted to read those books in my classroom.”
The Liberty Institute is taking up the case and representing the Rubeo family.
“This is the most shocking piece of evidence I’ve seen in the 12 years of religious liberty work that I’ve been doing,” Hiram Sasser, the Liberty Institute’s director of litigation, told Fox News.
Rubeo started reading the Bible late last year and says he enjoys doing so.
His father says that his son was told multiple times that he couldn’t read the book during free-reading time, prompting him to go to the principal.
He said that he got a letter stating that Giovanni can read the book before and after school and during lunch, though it doesn’t mention free-reading time.
Paul Rubeo, the father, told CBS he wants an apology.
“This is your kids, too, it’s not just my son,” said Paul Rubeo. “To be able to read their Bible during free-reading time, there comes a point in life when you have to stand up for what’s right and what’s wrong.”
*Bible photo via Shutterstock
