Michaela Bloodgood v. Liverpool Central School District (.pdf)
The flyers didn't say to 'ask me about Jesus', and actually the article MrsS posted is a little misleading about the family's history with the flyers--apparently the three occasions where they sought to distribute them involved three different flyers (the first of which did in fact get distributed; her teacher didn't find out about it until a week later, at which point she was told she couldn't do that again). Also, the examples of previously permitted flyers (camps, theater productions, etc.) cited in the article had all been distributed according to a school district policy where they were submitted for review to the Assistant Superintendent first, then distributed to all students by the teachers; this policy was explained to the girl's mother through a series of exchanges between her and the Superintendent's office, but she declined to submit them for distribution by the school. The policy forbids distribution of material "primarily of a proprietary nature" and refers to what may be allowed only in terms of "non-profit community based organizations". Apparently this was the first time (in that school district) a student had ever sought to randomly distribute flyers on their own, as well as the first time a student had sought to distribute religious material.
This is text of the first flyer she passed out:
JESUS SAVES!!
Hi! I am Michaela and would like to tell you about Jesus Christ and God His Father.
1. God sent his son (Jesus Christ) to come down on Earth and die on the cross for our sins.
2. God loves us so much he made a way for us to get to Heaven (which is why he sent his son here to die on a cross).
3. Here is a verse from the Bible for you to read: (In Romans 10:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”
4. I am going to ask you to please take the time to pray the simplest prayer (which can be like) Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me, I am a sinner and don’t want to die and burn in a pit of fire for an eternity! Please come into my heart and by my personal Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
The second flyer, which was confiscated by the teacher when she brought it to school, was a mass-produced children’s booklet called
Cleo which "analogizes the recovery of a lost dog to Christian salvation, and had her church’s name stamped on the back." It was at that point that the mother began interacting with the Superintendent's office about the issue.
This is the text of the third flyer, that time the mother asked for permission first to let her daughter distribute it, which was declined as not in accord with the district policy:
Hi! My name is Michaela and I would like to tell you about my life and how Jesus Christ gave me a new one. I asked Him to come into my heart and save me from my sins. This is what he has done for me.
1. Jesus Christ helped my parents decide to get remarried in November and then I will get to see my dad every day.
2. He helped me memorize Bible verses and say them in front of my church.
3. He helped me learn piano and play psalms and hymns and sing with grace in my heart to the LORD.
4. God cared enough about me that He gave me the victory over thinking about something bad that happened to me.
5. Now that I am saved, God gave me a peace in my heart and the truth that I am going to heaven instead of the other place.
PRAISE THE LORD!
I don't really care about the decision one way or the other (though it seems like it's just begging to start an outbreak of parent-driven, printed tit-for-tat to be distributed using children as pawns), but it seems pretty lame to me that they filed a lawsuit over it; it's not like her daughter was punished by school officials at any point for their efforts. The school's previous policy on distributing printed materials seems perfectly sensible to me.