Charlie Brown Christmas Decoration Restored In Texas School

A Bible verse display from the Charlie Brown Christmas movie is being reposted at a middle school in Texas, after the state's attorney general and a judge got involved.

The Killeen school district had recently ordered a the Christmas decoration to be removed from a school door.

The nurse's aide, Dedra Shannon put up the display on her office door at Patterson Middle School on Dec. 5, and the principle told her to take it down two days later. 

The decoration on the door of her classroom featuring the Peanuts cartoon character Linus, and a Bible verse from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." 

The display cited Linus saying, "'For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord'... That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown." 

The school had claimed the posting violated the separation of church and state, stating: "Employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students. The display in question was a six-foot-plus tall door decoration in the main hallway of the school building, and included a reference to a Bible verse covering much of the door. Upon review, it is clear that this display was not in keeping with the Merry Christmas Bill ... which requires that a display not encourage adherence to a particular religion."

But Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, a conservative Christian opposed the school's directive. 

"Texas law prohibits KISD (Killeen Independent School District) from expressing hostility toward religious messages and it also specifically encourages school districts to take a more inclusive approach to religious and secular celebrations," he said. 

The school reversed its decision after state District Judge Jack Jones on Thursday ordered it to be put back up. 

He said the decoration should be put back up with the label: "Ms. Shannon's holiday message."