Arkansas —
When FFRF voiced concern over a Valley View Public Schools system sports coach using her position to promote her religion onto her student athletes, the Arkansas district took the right steps to remove all religious practices from the team.
A district parent informed the state / church watchdog that the archery coach at Valley View Intermediate School has a pattern and practice of leading students in Christian prayer be-fore tournaments and official archery events, such as a recent awards ceremony. Audio provided to FFRF from this ceremony confirmed that the coach and what appeared to be a coach-selected student led the entire audience, including other students, in an explicitly Christian prayer.
“Here, the archery coach is undeniably pushing her personal religious beliefs onto students by coercing the entire archery team to participate in prayers as part of official school-sponsored activities,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence writes. “The coach is blatantly crossing the constitutional line and violating student-athletes’ First Amendment rights.”
Thankfully, FFRF’s work paid off, and the district took active steps to ensure that participation in the school’s archery team would not cost students their rights.”
“Rebecca Worsham, the district’s legal representative, wrote back to confirm that the district had conducted an investigation into the situation. This included interviews of the head archery coach, volunteer parent coaches and a number of student participants.
“The investigation confirmed that prayer occurred in connection with certain archery activities during the past season. It also confirmed that this practice long predated the current coach’s involvement as a district employee and was not undertaken with any awareness that it raised constitutional concerns,” Worsham wrote. “Upon being made aware of those concerns, the coach immediately acknowledged them and confirmed that she will not lead, direct or organize prayer for or with students during school-sponsored archery activities going forward.”
Worsham also confirmed that the coach was given the instructions not to lead, initiate, direct, solicit or participate in leading students in prayer via writing, as well as providing the head coach and the program’s volunteer coaches with guidance on the constitutional limits applicable to religious expression by school staff.”
