The College Fix

An Ohio high school student was given an in-school suspension for putting up handwritten Bible verses around her school.

Lebanon High School’s Gabby Helsinger says school administrators informed her the punishment was due to her “targeting” members of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. The GSA had recently hung up gay pride flags around the school’s hallways.

“I got called to the office and there is a letter that says that I have an ISS, which is an in-school suspension, and the reason why I have it is because ‘abuse of others, disrespect, rudeness’ because I put Bible verses up ‘targeting the GSA organization,’” Helsinger says in a video posted on Facebook.

Helsinger claims she didn’t know what “GSA” meant nor what the group was, according to Fox News.

Getting permission to put up the verses seems to have been an issue, as Helsinger notes Lebanon Principal Scott Butler had inquired if she was granted it. Helsinger told Butler she did not have permission, but was unaware it was required. “People do it a lot — putting Post-It notes on people’s lockers, so I just did it,” she said.

From the story:

“On Thursday when I got to school, I see that there were pride flags, posters around my school,” Gabby said in the video. “And I felt the need to write down some Bible verses so I could put them around my school. And I wrote them down and I put them around the lockers, the walls.” …

Helsinger says she was not targeting any organization by posting verses from the Bible around the school.

“Seeing that there [were] people in my school that needed help … ,” said Helsinger. “They don’t need to be living in the confusion of wondering if they should be gay, bi, lesbian, trans — anything like that. And I know that God is the only way that they can be healed by that, and that’s why I did it…”

In the Facebook video, Helsinger said when the principal asked her why she posted the Bible verses, she said she did it because she wanted “to spread the word of God.” …

[…] Helsinger’s mother said she believes her daughter is being unfairly punished for sharing her beliefs.

“Lebanon schools celebrates evil and punishes righteousness!!” she posted, adding that she appealed the punishment.  “Posting a Bible verse is not abuse of others, disrespect/insolence/rudeness and in no way was it targeting GSA.”

Lebanon City School Superintendent Todd Yohey told Faithwire that Lebanon HS’s Student Code of Conduct “does not prohibit the sharing or posting of religious text or imagery on school grounds.”

Helsinger’s mother shared on Facebook a few of the Bible quotes hung by her daughter:

Do these verses appear to be “targeting”?

Read the Fox News and Faithwire articles.

MORE: Harvard hosts ‘BGLTQ-accepting’ Bible reading

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