Legal Group Defends Tennessee Student Punished For Saying 'Bless You' In Class

A Christian legal group is coming to the aid of a Tennessee high school student who was reportedly punished by school administrators for saying "Bless You" when a classmate sneezed.

The Liberty Institute has reportedly sent a demand letter to Dyer County High School, demanding that school officials apologize to student Kendra Turner after she was allegedly reprimanded for saying "bless you" to a student who sneezed in class.

The legal group is demanding the public school apologize to Turner and any other students who have been silenced from expressing their religious faith at school.

"It is unlawful for a school official to kick a student out of class for quietly blessing another student after she sneezes," Liberty Institute Senior Counsel Jeremiah Dys said in a press release. "School officials must follow the rules of the Constitution just like students must follow the reasonable rules of the classroom."

The incident happened earlier this month, when Turner, a senior, reportedly said "bless you" to a student during class. Her teacher reportedly told her that phrase was meant for church, and when Turner defended herself, she was sent to a school administrator and put on in-school suspension for the rest of the class period.

"She said that we're not going to have godly speaking in her class and that's when I said we have a constitutional right," Turner recalled of the incident to Action News 5.

The teacher involved in the incident has defended their actions, telling the local media outlet that Turner was acting aggressive and disruptive when she allegedly yelled "bless you" during class.