Schools sued over refusal to ban prayers

Jace Radke

Friday, March 7, 2003 | 11:33 a.m.

A. The decision to include an invocation and/or benediction at a high school graduation exercise must be voluntarily agreed on by a majority of the high school graduating senior class, with the advice and counsel of the school principal.

B. The invocation and/or benediction shall be given by a student volunteer.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Clark County School District claiming that the School Board's refusal to ban prayers at graduation ceremonies violates the First and 14th Amendments.

"A graduation is a ceremony controlled by the school district, and a prayer offered in that context is unconstitutional," ACLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein said.

The School Board voted 3-2 to continue to allow prayers at graduations, a move that could jeopardize $70 million in federal funds to the district, and will vote on new language for the regulation on March 13.

The new language is lifted verbatim from guidance on graduation prayers from the U.S. education secretary, said William Hoffman, attorney for the district.

The new language states that what a student says at graduation is private speech and that the district may make announcements at graduation ceremonies to make it clear that the student's speech is not attributable to the district.

Clark County administrators review graduation speeches ahead of time, but that doesn't mean that a student won't slip in a prayer anyway, Hoffman said.

"What are we supposed to do if a student says a prayer up there, pull the plug?" Hoffman asked. "Should we wrestle the student to the ground and give him a noogie?"

Lichtenstein contends that the fact that the district reviews the speeches at graduations clearly makes the district responsible.

"The new language tries to hedge and say that they have no control over what the student will say, but they approve the speeches," Lichtenstein said. "(The district) is not really giving up control, and they still have a captive audience at the ceremony."

Case law would seem to back up the ACLU's position, with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals making a ruling about two weeks ago that reaffirmed that prayers do not belong at school-controlled events, Lichtenstein said.

While the measure is being considered by the board because of recent federal court rulings, the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts to allow certain types of religious expression provided it is initiated by the student and does not interfere with classroom instruction. Districts that do not submit proof of such regulations by March 15 face sanctions, including the loss of federal funds.

The ACLU suit asks the U.S. District Court to declare the school district's regulation unconstitutional, and for an injunction to stop the enforcement of the regulation.