A high school student in New York has successfully defended her right to religious expression after a months-long dispute with her school over displaying Bible verses in a personalized parking space.

Sabrina Steffans, a student at Grand Island High School near Buffalo, had submitted three designs for her senior parking spot, a tradition where students pay $50 to decorate their spaces with “positive artwork” to promote school spirit. Her first two designs featured Christian imagery and verses from John 14:6 and Jeremiah 29:11, but were rejected by school officials for containing religious content.

“I put in three drawings… the first was of Salvation Mountain with crosses and Bible verses,” Steffans told reporters. “They said completely no to it because it had a lot of religion that wasn’t allowed”.

After her designs were denied, Steffans reached out to First Liberty Institute, a legal organization specializing in religious freedom cases. The group sent a demand letter asserting that Steffans’ First Amendment rights had been violated. Days later, the school reversed its decision and approved her original design.

“We are pleased the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs,” said Keisha Russell, senior counsel at First Liberty. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools”.

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