Ind. school district ends minister’s lunch visits

INDIANAPOLIS — A northeastern Indiana public school district has agreed to stop allowing a local youth minister to talk with middle school students during lunch hour.

A Fort Wayne couple represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued the Southwest Allen County school district Friday in federal court.

The lawsuit claims a youth pastor from a church attended by many students was regularly permitted to hand out materials and talk with children during lunch at Summit Middle School. The suit argues that amounts to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the district.

Attorneys for both sides say the district will end the lunch hour visits.

ACLU attorney Ken Falk says the lawsuit will be dropped once it gets formal notice the program has ended.