A federal district court has issued an opinion finding that school officials had violated a fourth grader's free speech rights by denying her request to distribute religious flyers during non-instructional time. The court also ruled that the school's literature distribution policy is unconstitutional. The student, Michaela Bloodgood, is represented by Liberty Counsel.

In 2004, when Michaela was a student at Nate Perry Elementary School in Liverpool, New York, she asked permission to give a flyer that she wrote to her friends and classmates during non-instructional time.

The flyer stated, in part: "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.”

School officials insisted that Michaela could not distribute the flyers because of the potential for divisiveness, litter and that students might believe the school was endorsing a religious message. The school banned all literature distribution by students. Liberty Counsel's lawsuit contended that the school cannot totally ban literature distribution by students during non-instructional time, any more than it can ban verbal communication, without violating the First Amendment.

The district court opinion stated that "none of the reasons the District articulated for denying [Michaela's] request indicate more than undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance, which is not enough to overcome the right of freedom of expression." The opinion also stated that "the Court cannot say the danger that children would misperceive the endorsement of religion is any greater than the danger that they would perceive a hostility toward religion as a result of the District's denial of [Michaela's] request to distribute her flyers."