Judge: Texas Middle School Can Restore Charlie Brown Christmas Poster

Earlier this month, a poster was put up on the door to the nurse���s office at Patterson Middle School in Killeen, Texas to celebrate the holiday season. The poster features a drawing of the Linus character from the holiday cartoon classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The poster reflects more than just the image of Linus, however; it also contains a quote from the animated show - one of its most memorable:

���For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. ... That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.���

Well, THAT did it.

Suspecting that such an overt religious reference might be a problem, the school principal said the poster had to come down.

The Killeen Independent School District (Killeen ISD) soon found itself considering the issue, and determined on Wednesday that display of the poster should be banned���out of concern it might offend students not of a Christian orientation.

That wasn���t the end of things, however. Texas Values, a Christian legal advocacy group, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patterson Middle School nurse���s aide Dedra Shannon to see the poster restored.

According to KHOU.com, Judge Jack Jones of the 146th District Court ruled on Thursday in Shannon���s favor, saying that the poster could be put back up, but saying, as well, that it had to be amended slightly to include the text ���Ms. Shannon���s Christmas Message.���

The ruling appears to be one with which Texas ISD can live. Following the court decision, the district issued a statement, saying, ���We believe that directing the individual to include the additional text better complies with state and federal law. We support this decision.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large