Dalton Local School District's future graduation ceremonies and school board meetings will not include prayer. "The Supreme Court has settled this matter — high school graduations must be secular to protect the freedom of conscience of all students," wrote Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert in a letter sent June 16. A letter to the school board followed on June 26: "It is beyond the scope of a public school board to schedule or conduct prayer as part of its meetings."
Superintendent Scott Beatty responded July 6 that the district would not have an invocation or benediction as part of its 2016 ceremony, and an attorney for the school board wrote July 16 to let Markert know school board prayers would also be discontinued.