This is a summary of the story discussed here.

Despite being a well-behaved, straight-A student, India Tracy was often sent to the principal's office at Horace Maynard Middle School in Union, Tennessee. She was sent there when her mother refused permission for the school to send India to a tent revival during school hours, and when India declined to portray Mary in a religious Christmas play.

India and her parents, Greg and Sarajane Tracy, say other students taunted India, and beat and ridiculed her since 1999, when she first refused to go to the religious retreat. India, 14, says the principal "asked my religion. I told him I didn't want to talk about it and for him to call my parents." Her mother also refused to discuss religion with him, she says, because she didn't think it was a proper subject for a public school. (The family is Pagan. Paganism "embraces kinship with nature, positive morality and acknowledges both the female and male side of Deity," according to the Pagan Federation.)

After she started talking about suicide, India's parents removed her from school, and are home-schooling her. They have also filed a lawsuit asking for $300,000 in damages to pay India's tuition to a private school, legal fees and the cost of psychological counseling. The suit also seeks a court prohibition against "the school system's continued religious indoctrination of children." The suit alleges:

• The Union County school system violated India's civil rights by promoting and endorsing religious activities; denied her right to exercise her own religion, and failed to protect her from harassment and physical and verbal abuse.

• India was repeatedly called "Satan worshipper", "witch" and other names. She was accused of "eating babies" and of being a lesbian because she wasn't a Christian.

• India was forced to attend regular Bible study classes during the school day, and urged to lead the school and her class in prayer.

• Derogatory names were written on her locker in permanent ink, but the school refused to remove the graffiti or move her locker.

• India was repeatedly attacked as she knelt in front of her bottom-row locker. Her head was bashed at least 10 times, cutting her lip, forehead and nose.

• A teacher told India to "keep quiet because you'll get in trouble" after she wrote a paper about religious freedom.

• A bus driver regularly asked India in front of other students if she had gone to church yet and if she'd like to come to church.

"Maybe it will be a harsh enough lesson so the next child in Union County who's different can continue through school and graduate and feel safe," Sarajane says about the lawsuit.

Source: "Union Schools Hit With Religion-Related Lawsuit -- Action Claims Student Was Beaten, Harassed For Being Different" By Jennifer Lawson, Knoxville News Sentinel, February 14, 2003