California
The Gateway Unified School District agreed with concerns raised by FFRF and moved to cancel a motion that would begin board meetings with prayer.
In early 2023, the board passed a motion 3-2 to open school board meetings with prayer. FFRF wrote to the district, ensuring that they were aware of their constitutional obligation not to needlessly entangle religion with education.
“Board members are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote. “However, the board ought not to lend its power and prestige to religion or coerce attendees into participating in religious exercise.”
After the initial letter was sent in 2023, FFRF followed up in August 2023 and August 2024, which finally yielded a response. The district clarified that it was “experiencing significant turmoil among staff and governing board members, which even re- sulted in the loss of legal counsel,” which is why the district had not fully responded to FFRF in that time. However, the superintendent and the president of the board of trustees assured that the practice had been abandoned, writing, “Since this incident, the district has made it a priority to ensure compliance with constitutional standards regarding the separation of church and state.”
