A Christian student in Tennessee who was compelled to change out of a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Homosexuality is a Sin” or face leaving the school grounds in 2020 has won a settlement from the school district.
The settlement signifies a triumph in the ongoing struggle to uphold the First Amendment in a country facing challenges from individuals advocating for certain ideologies. The Christian Post reported on Monday that the Overton County Board of Education reached a settlement agreement in November.
In the settlement, the board agreed to pay Brielle Penkoski, a student who graduated from Livingston Academy public high school, $100. Additionally, the board will cover all attorney fees and other costs related to the litigation.
Penkoski’s father, street preacher Rich Penkoski, expressed a sense of vindication with the settlement. He clarified that civil rights lawsuits don’t typically result in substantial payments, often just a nominal amount, such as one dollar.
“A lot of people don’t understand this, but when it comes to civil rights lawsuits … there’s this perception that somehow we get paid lots of money for these things. Well, it’s not true. Most of the time, it’s a dollar,” he told the Post.
“But Brielle got $100, which is way more than we thought she was going to get out of this anyway,” mentioned Rich Penkoski. He also highlighted that as part of the resolution, teachers from the 2020 incident were instructed to undergo First Amendment training courses, a condition he insisted on during the settlement process.
