Rampart High School senior granted permission to paint religious message on parking spot
Celeste Springer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A Rampart High School senior will be able to paint a religious message on her parking spot following a demand letter, according to her legal counsel.
Sophia Shumaker planned to participate in a senior tradition, temporarily painting her spot in the school’s parking lot. Shumaker said her intended design, which included a Bible verse, was denied by the school.
“I was honestly pretty upset. Just because the senior parking spaces are really supposed to resemble and express who we are, and you not being able to show my Christianity or my religious side, which is honestly really upsetting,” Shumaker told KRDO13 on Tuesday, thinking back to the original rejection.
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First Liberty Institute, the organization representing Shumaker, said Rampart High School denied the request, pointing to a school policy restricting political and religious paintings. However, First Liberty Institute argued that it was inconsistent across Colorado Springs Academy School District 20 (D20) schools, so the law group sent a demand letter to the district.
On Tuesday, First Liberty Institute announced that D20 will allow Shumaker and other students to paint their parking spots with religious imagery, as long as it meets a set of general requirements (no offensive language, pictures, etc).
Shumaker said the design above is what she will now paint on her parking spot.
“1 Corinthians 13:4 is probably one of my favorite Bible verses. My mother used to say it to me all the time.”
“And then the parable of the Shepherd and the sheep. It’s just that there are 99 sheep and the shepherd leaves the 99 to go find the lost one. So that’s really been a near and dear parable,” Shumaker explained that this verse and story helped get her through difficult times.