Drop the “God” talk.

And the “Jesus” talk. And the “devil” talk.

That was the message that went home with a class of McCordsville Elementary first-graders recently.

One of the school’s first-grade teachers sent a note home, asking parents to talk with their children about the “appropriate time and place” to talk about religion. Her classroom was the not the right place, she said.

“With McCordsville Elementary being a public school, we have many different religions and beliefs,” the unnamed teacher wrote, “and I do not want to upset a child/parent because of these words being used.”

The move backfired. Instead of preventing problems arising from religious talk in the classroom, the note kicked up a debate on students’ free speech rights.

“A handful of students were having a pretty heated debate about the existence of God and the devil,” explained Mt. Vernon Schools Superintendent Shane Robbins. “These are first-graders.”

Robbins said the teacher felt the debate was disrupting class, so she attempted to talk with students about it. The topic came up again, so the teacher sent the note home to enlist the help of parents.

“There were a handful of parents that contacted us,” Robbins said. “They were offended that we were trying to quiet their children.”

Robbins said the district’s response was simple: “We don’t do that.”

Mt. Vernon’s policy falls in line with state law, Robbins said, and says that religious expression cannot be inhibited or advanced. Robbins said the teacher is just in her second year and didn’t fully understand district and board policies.

Instead of consulting with her principal or other school officials, Robbins said the teacher jumped the gun with the note home.

“From a school vantage point, it was a learning process for a young teacher,” he said.

The teacher is still in the classroom and has all of same students, Robbins said.

Call IndyStar reporter Arika Herron at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.