How many times have you said “Bless You” after hearing someone sneeze? Hundreds of times? People have been saying this for thousands of years. It’s an excepted practice in society. Not so in Dyer County, Tennessee.
When High School senior Kendra Turner uttered the phrase after a classmate sneezed, her teacher said, “we’re not going to have godly speaking in class”. She said that talk was for church.
Turner was sent to see a school administrator and was promptly placed in in-school suspension.
The teacher had a white board posted in the classroom with expressions that are “banned as a part of class rules”. As you can see, the phrase “Bless You” is one of the forbidden sayings.
Turner says she’ll continue to stand up for her faith and her constitutional rights. Turner’s parents say the school leaders claim the outburst was a classroom distraction and that she shouted “bless you” across the room. The Dyer County Schools superintendent has not responded to requests for comment.