(The Center Square) – A high school student, previously muted and removed from a Zoom session for expressing his faith, has been invited back to share his beliefs.
Zion Ramos, a junior at Arkansas Connections Academy, an online high school, has been invited to share his faith for three minutes after being muted and removed from a Zoom meeting.
The First Liberty Institute, a legal organization focused on religious liberty, stated in a demand letter to ARCA that these actions infringed upon Ramos’s First Amendment rights.
“I’m glad the school agreed to do the right thing,” said Ramos. “Freedom of speech isn’t just a right; it’s the foundation of our liberty. Christians must stand up, speak out and defend our right to share what we believe.”
Three hours after the letter was sent, ARCA officials responded.
“ARCA’s administration is dedicated to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to express their viewpoint in a respectful environment,” ARCA said in a statement.
ARCA Executive Director Nicole Stephens told The Center Square after the incident, “[W]e are exploring training opportunities to help prepare all our educators with guidance on moderating student conversations. We will also be providing a timely response to the letter.”
In the letter, First Liberty demanded that the school allow Ramos to share his faith for three minutes during a future social time, promise not to censor religious expression and require school officials to complete religious liberty training.
Now ARCA has agreed to all three requests.
“We are grateful that school officials acknowledge how concerning this situation was for Zion and his family, and that federal and state law protect students’ religious expression during social gatherings,” said Kayla Toney, counsel for First Liberty Institute. “Zion looks forward to sharing his faith during a future social time.”
In the Arkansas online public school’s “social time” Zoom session, students are free to discuss any topic they choose, provided their comments are not violent, vulgar or obscene.
In September, inspired by the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, Ramos started to share his faith for two minutes. The teacher, Kelsey Reid, then muted Ramos and removed him from the Zoom meeting. She later shut down the entire Zoom meeting.
Reid later said she did not object to the content of the student’s message, but how he delivered it, noting the short session is not the time for a speaking platform.
