An appeals court says a group of southeast Texas high school cheerleaders is not at risk of being kept from displaying banners emblazoned with Bible verses at football games.
Kountze School District initially said the banners couldn't be displayed after a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The cheerleaders' parents sued the district. But the district later changed its policy and asked that the lawsuit be dropped.
A judge last year ruled the banners are constitutionally permissible. But the appeals court in Beaumont said Thursday that the lower court shouldn't have heard the case because the policy change resolved the dispute.
The school district hailed the ruling as a victory. But an attorney for the cheerleaders says he worries whether religious liberties will be safe without further protections.
