NASHVILLE (AP) - A federal appeals court has ruled a Knoxville fourth-grader's rights were not violated in a dispute over a Bible study group.

The parents of Luke Whitson sued the Knox County Board of Education in 2005 because their child "got the impression from another fourth grader that he could not participate in a student-led Bible study during recess," the Sixth Circuit panel states.

Although there is some dispute over what Principal Cathy Summa said to students, once the controversy became the subject of news stories, the school board issued a press release in which Summa explained herself.

That statement is quoted in the appeals court's Tuesday opinion. It reads, "I indicated to the students and the parents that I did not feel that an organized activity of this type was appropriate during the school day. ...While we do not discourage students from reading at recess, I think that a daily planned activity that is stationary or p hysically static in nature defeats the real purpose of recess. The purpose is to give students an opportunity to have some physical activity during the school day."

In subsequent media interviews, school officials said children were welcome to read their Bibles during free time, such as before and after school.

According to testimony at the original trial, despite Summa's directions, some children continued to study their Bibles at recess.

Luke Whitson testified that he wanted to continue Bible study but feared getting in trouble, although he did not know of any other students getting in trouble for it.

Neither Luke Whitson nor his parents, Tina and Samuel Whitson, ever spoke to Summa or to anyone at the Board of Education about their concerns, although Tina Whitson tried to speak to the principal twice and was told she was unavailable.

A jury in 2009 ruled in favor of the school district, finding officials did not violate Luke Whitson's constitu tional rights.

The parents appealed, claiming the judge made several errors. Ruling from Cincinnati, the appeals court agreed that errors were made but found those errors to be harmless.

Attorney Jonathan Scruggs, who represents the Whitsons, works for the Christian legal group the Alliance Defense Fund. In a phone interview from his Memphis office, Scruggs said that he was disappointed with the ruling but said he needs time to digest it before he can say whether he would recommend appealing.