A high school senior successfully challenged her New York school district after officials rejected her request to include Bible verses and Christian symbols on her paid parking space.
Faith is not just for Sundays. We should carry our faith wherever we go and express it so others can see the love of Christ.
Sometimes that will bring neglect, opposition, or even bullying. But God does not call us to shrink back or stay silent.
Sabrina Steffans’s inspiring story shows us how one teenager stood strong when her school tried to silence her faith.
Sabrina Steffans, an incoming senior at Grand Island High School near Buffalo, New York, submitted three different designs for her senior parking space.
The school’s tradition allows seniors to pay a fee and “express themselves” by decorating their parking spaces. However, Steffans’ first design featuring Salvation Mountain was completely rejected.
“I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain,” Steffans explained. “And when I handed it in, they said completely no to it because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said that wasn’t allowed.”
Her second submission, containing only Bible verses, also faced rejection. The school finally approved her third design, which contained no Bible verses or crosses.
This pattern of rejection wasn’t entirely surprising to Steffans, who runs the school’s Bible club and had previously encountered resistance from administrators.
“It took like 6 months for me to be able to even start the Bible club because they just kind of kept pushing it off and pushing it off,” she shared.
The school had also rejected multiple poster designs for the club because they contained Bible verses and religious messaging.
Frustrated by the repeated denials, Steffans contacted First Liberty Institute, a religious liberty law firm. Senior counsel Keisha Russell immediately recognized the constitutional violation.
“Sabrina’s the only one who can’t choose for herself the message that she wants on that parking space and that’s just viewpoint discrimination,” Russell stated. “The Supreme Court has said repeatedly that religious speech is doubly protected by the Constitution under the free speech clause and the free exercise clause.”
After First Liberty sent a demand letter threatening litigation, the Grand Island Central School District reversed its decision.
Superintendent Brian Graham issued a statement explaining that after consulting with legal counsel, the district decided to allow Steffans to proceed with her original religious design.
Like Sabrina, let us be bold in our faith and share the gospel wherever God places us. We may face opposition, but His grace is sufficient to lead us through those situations.
WATCH: High School Student Defends Faith and Wins Right to Share Bible Message
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