Religious rituals won’t be part of school events (December 15, 2021)

A concerned local community member reported to FFRF that cadets from the JROTC program at Sonora High School in California participated in a religious flag-folding ceremony as part of a Veterans Day event held in La Habra. The community member reported that as the cadets folded the flag, their JROTC instructor narrated using strong religious language: “The flag-folding ceremony represents the same religious principles on which our great country was originally founded.”

After FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to Superintendent Steve McLaughlin, the district agreed to inform staff members that religious rituals are not to be included as part of school activities.

Freedom From Religion Foundation