Supreme Court again affirms Article one.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court backed away from a confrontation over student-led prayers at high school graduations Monday, an action that all sides in the church-state fight say increases pressure for a stronger religious presence at public school ceremonies.
The court did not comment in turning down an appeal from a high school student near Jacksonville, Fla., who objected to the school's policy of letting the senior class pick a classmate to deliver a graduation "message."
The chosen student is often the class chaplain, an elected office like president or treasurer. Although the messages need not be religious, religion was the theme of all but four addresses delivered over three years at 17 public high schools in Duval County, Fla.
The school argued that students, not teachers or administrators, make all the decisions about whether there will be an address, who will give it and whether it will be religious.
The Supreme Court's action Monday was not a decision on the merits of the policy, but will be read as a signal that other schools can avoid constitutional problems if they install the same policy, lawyers said.
"The fact that the Supreme Court refused to review the case sends a green light to other school districts that they can produce a neutral policy," said Matthew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a religious civil liberties and legal defense organization. The group intervened on behalf of students who wanted religious addresses.
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ap.tbo.com
tom watson tosiwmee |
