FFRF stops Louisiana school’s prayer
Students at Mansfield High School in Mansfield, La., are no longer being subjected to prayer each day at mandatory morning assemblies.
FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover wrote to the Desoto Parish School System in August 2015 objecting to the school’s practice of selecting a student to lead the prayer, which was projected to all students in the room. Students were also reportedly required to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
“The Supreme Court has continually and consistently struck down prayers offered at school-sponsored events, even when led by students,” Grover said. A public school “must not organize a means for students to promote a decidedly religious message to a captive student audience, thereby isolating and excluding those students who are non-Christian or nonreligious.”
On Nov. 19, FFRF’s complainant confirmed that a moment of silence had replaced the prayers, and no students were being forced to stand for the pledge.
FFRF halts Ohio band competition prayer
After a complaint by FFRF, Louisville High School in Ohio will no longer include invocations at its annual marching band competition. The 2015 event reportedly began with a minister leading attendees from seven different Ohio public schools in prayer.
Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to the Louisville School District on Oct. 21. “Federal courts consistently strike down school-sponsored prayer in public schools because it constitutes a government endorsement of religion, which violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and interferes with the personal conscience of students,” Markert wrote.
An attorney for the school district informed FFRF on Nov. 24 that the superintendent had reminded “the appropriate parties” of the law on school invocations.
Senior center stops mealtime prayers
Thanks to a series of letters from FFRF, tax-funded senior centers in Maryland have been reminded of their duties to not require prayer for the seniors in their care.
Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel sent letters to three Maryland senior centers about reports of unconstitutional prayers at mealtimes, typically over a PA system. FFRF’s complainant reported feeling as though “kitchen staffers hold our tax-subsidized lunches hostage” until a prayer was said. Seidel also sent letters to the two counties where the three facilities are located, writing to the Baltimore County Department on Aging and the Anne Arundel County Department of Aging and Disabilities. The Maryland Department of Aging also received a letter from FFRF objecting to prayers.
“Government-run or -funded facilities should not host, organize, or facilitate prayers,” wrote Seidel. “Not only does scheduling or permitting public prayer to be imposed on all diners at these meals raise concern that the government is endorsing religion, it also violates citizens’ rights to be free from religious proselytizing.”
FFRF’s complainant confirmed that the pre-meal prayers had stopped.
No more religion in Kansas publications
After receiving a letter from FFRF, Unified School District #436 in Caney Valley, Kan., will ensure that religious material is no longer printed in its yearbooks or newspapers.
Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote a letter of complaint after a student forwarded a picture of the 2014-15 Caney Valley High School yearbook with a single large Christian cross on its cover. FFRF also complained about a section from the school’s newspaper quoting two students and a faculty member selecting their favorite bible verses and recommending Matthew 28:18-20, which is a command to convert “all people in the world” to Christianity.
“School publications, including yearbooks and school newspapers, must remain neutral toward religion,” wrote Seidel. The yearbook cross and newspaper section dedicated to bible verses both create “the appearance that the district prefers religion over nonreligion and Christianity over all other religions.”
New superintendent Blake A. Vargas thanked FFRF for “bringing to light practices that could be considered a violation of the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause,” and assured FFRF that he would review current practices and ensure that the school would be neutral on religion in the future.
Ohio district ends ties with fundraiser
New Lebanon Local Schools in Ohio will no longer fundraise for the Samaritan’s Purse, a religious organization headed by Franklin Graham.
FFRF learned that Dixie Elementary School in New Lebanon has asked its students to participate in a donation drive for “Operation Christmas Child,” a project of Samaritan’s Purse, for at least three years. The school sent home pamphlets to children explaining, “Operation Christmas Child partners with churches worldwide to reach boys and girls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After receiving shoebox gifts, many children are discipled through our Bible study course, The Greatest Journey, where they learn to become faithful followers of Christ and share their faith with others.” The pamphlet also instructs readers to, “most importantly,” pray for the gift recipient.
“While it is laudable for a public school to encourage young students to become active and involved in their community by volunteering and donating to charitable organizations, the school cannot use that goal as an avenue to fund a religious organization with a religious mission,” wrote Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert in a Nov. 19 letter to the school district.
On Nov. 24, Superintendent Greg Williams notified Markert that the school district’s attorney “has led district administration to conclude that it is not appropriate to continue with this project.”
FFRF stops concert’s religious script
Missouri’s Iberia Elementary School previously planned on including a recitation of the “biblical meaning” of verses in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at its Christmas program. However, after receiving a letter from Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott, the school changed the script prior to the concert.
The religious script claimed religious meanings for each of the verses in the popular, secular holiday song, including claims that Jesus is the “true love” referenced in the first day, the two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments, and the six geese a-laying are “the six days of creation.”
Elliott’s Nov. 10 letter informed the Iberia R-V School District that “having young elementary school students recite the purported ‘biblical meaning’ to a gathering of elementary school students, teachers and parents gives the appearance that the school endorses the religious message.” Moreover, “the content of the script is demonstrably false,” and thus, “if music instruction in the District is meant to educate, the Christmas program script is doing a disservice by spreading false and unsubstantiated claims.”
FFRF’s local complainant reported on Nov. 24 that the program’s script had been changed to a secular version.
Future veteran’s events to exclude prayer
Coleman High School in Coleman, Wis., will not include prayers in future Memorial Day and Veterans Day assemblies after FFRF sent a letter to the superintendent. Ceremonies for the last two years at least have reportedly included religious prayers and videos.
“We ask that you take action to ensure that future assemblies do not include prayer and otherwise remain neutral toward religion,” wrote FFRF Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne in a Nov. 19 letter to Superintendent Douglas P. Polomis.
“We will make every effort to ensure that future assemblies do not include prayer and remain neutral toward religion,” Polomis responded on Nov. 30.
FFRF removes religion from post offices
The Carver, Mass., post office has removed a religious poster from its bulletin board after FFRF pointed out the sign’s illegality.
The poster was titled “The Pledges,” and in addition to the Pledge of Allegiance, printed a “Pledge to the Bible” and a “Pledge to the Christian Flag.” FFRF Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler lodged a complaint with the office on July 22, 2015, pointing out that in addition to being unconstitutional, “United States postal regulations prohibit the display of religious materials, other than stamp art, on postal property.”
On Nov. 30, FFRF received word from an interim postmaster that the postmaster to whom the letter was addressed had retired, and the poster on the bulletin board had been removed.
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The Alden Post Office in Michigan has removed religious propaganda from the counter in the lobby following a complaint from FFRF. Proselytizing materials subtitled “Evidence for God’s Existence and Identity” had been regularly available in the lobby.
Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler wrote to Postmaster Lynnette Derror on Nov. 23, quoting postal regulations providing that no literature other than official postal materials could be deposited anywhere on postal premises, and regulations prohibiting the display of religious materials.
On Dec. 3, Derror said she had posted Post Office regulations and “will take steps to insure that there is no literature on the counter daily.”
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A painted nativity display was removed and replaced with a secular display in the window of the Rupert Post Office in Idaho after FFRF lodged a complaint.
Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler protested the display, which also included the words “Christmas begins with Christ,” in a Dec. 4 letter to the postmaster. “United States postal regulations prohibit the display of religious materials, other than stamp art, on postal property,” Ziegler wrote. Furthermore, “by displaying a nativity scene and religious statement on its grounds, the Rupert Post Office is illegally demonstrating a preference for religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths.”
On Dec. 14, FFRF’s complainant reported that the religious scene had been removed, and had been repainted with a display reading “Peace on earth, good will toward men.” (Maybe next year they’ll include women!)
Prayers ended at faculty meetings
After years of prayers “in Jesus’ name” at Missouri’s Montgomery County R-II School District faculty meetings, FFRF has ensured that future meetings will be secular.
Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott called the prayers “unnecessary and divisive,” pointing out that they alienate non-Christian and nonbelieving employees. “Their participation in these mandatory meetings is adversely affected by these types of prayers, which turn them into outsiders in their own community and workplace,” he wrote.
An attorney for the school district wrote on Dec. 2, saying the district had taken measures to comply with the law regarding religious endorsement at district events.
Religious club no longer teacher-led
The Appleton Area School District in Wisconsin is taking steps to ensure that a Christian club is truly student-run.
FFRF learned that Appleton East High School circulated a flyer for a religious student club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but listed a teacher’s school email and cell phone number as the contact. “We are writing to ensure that the FCA is entirely student-initiated and student-run, as required by federal law,” wrote Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne in a Dec. 7 letter to the school district. “In our experience, adults often organize and participate in FCA events. If the FCA club is not student-initiated and student-run, AEHS should dissolve it.”
“School and district administration have met with the FCA supervisor and reviewed FCA meeting practices for club operations,” wrote Superintendent Lee Allinger in an emailed reply on Dec. 17. “We also took this opportunity to reinforce legal and district requirements.”
Allinger also stated that the objectionable flyers had been removed and future flyers would not contain supervisor contact information, and thanked FFRF for sharing its concerns.
Evangelists removed from high school
After FFRF sent a complaint, Barnum Public Schools in Minnesota will no longer allow evangelists access to students at school.
Adults affiliated with the evangelical Christian group Campus Life had been permitted to come into the lunchroom weekly to recruit students to come to church events, a Barnum High School student told FFRF. The group states is purpose as to “minister in the name of Jesus.”
“The presence of Campus Life ministers in the school supports their mission of proselytizing,” said Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott in a Dec. 16 letter. “No religious organization should have direct access to students at school. This predatory conduct should raise red flags, especially since these adults are conversing with students without parental knowledge.”
Superintendent David J. Bottem responded promptly on Dec. 18, informing FFRF that the district had severed its relationship with Campus Life, “effective immediately.”
FFRF quashes Texas teacher’s prayers
Teacher-led prayers are no longer part of the lunch hour at Alpha Charter School in Garland, Texas, thanks to action taken by the FFRF.
A parent reported their child’s second-grade teacher to FFRF for leading her students in prayer every day before lunch. The school principal had not taken action despite being made aware of the situation.
Public schools “must not promote decidedly religious messages to a captive student audience, thereby isolating and excluding those students who are non-Christian or nonreligious,” Staff Attorney Sam Grover told the school. Grover also pointed to FFRF’s recent successful lawsuit against praying teachers in Emanuel County, Ga., declaring, “FFRF is committed to defending the rights of students in public schools. Given how young and impressionable these students are, this violation of the law is particularly egregious.”
The school responded on Dec. 17, saying that they had investigated the situation and met with the teacher in question, who now “understands her responsibility in regards to separation of church and state.”
FFRF brings equality to prison website
In Pennsylvania, the York County prison system’s website featured a direct link to the website of Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, a Christian organization, despite the fact that several other organizations operate in the prison. However, the county stopped promoting the group on its website after FFRF got involved.
Staff Attorney Sam Grover contended that posting the link solely to one organization “creates the impression that the county impermissibly favors the ministry’s religious message, which violates the Establishment Clause.”
FFRF’s complainant reported on Dec. 20 that the county had removed the link.
Second set of religious displays removed
After persuading the Frisco Independent School District in Texas to remove a sign reading “Pray more, worry less” from the Roach Middle School front office in September, FFRF has prompted the district to remove further unconstitutional religious displays from district property.
Staff Attorney Sam Grover sent a complaint to the district on Nov. 19 to object to religious displays in the school district’s Student Opportunity Center. One sign read, “The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you,” while another proclaimed that “Prayer does not change God – it changes me.” The office also contained two crosses with scriptural quotes on them. “All students deserve to learn in an environment free from religious proselytization and endorsement,” Grover wrote.
The district’s attorney informed Grover on Dec. 2 that the displays had been removed, and that all staff had been reminded to ensure there were no religious displays on school grounds.
Police station won’t display nativity again
Next holiday season, the city of Belle Plaine, Minn., will not allow a longstanding nativity scene on public land as it previously had. A local church will display it instead.
Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott and Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne sent the city a letter of complaint on Dec. 15 to protest the nativity display, which the city allowed the Rotary Club to place on the lawn of the police department for at least 60 years. In addition to pointing out the legal issues with the nativity, FFRF requested to put up its own banner if the nativity was not removed. The request was granted, although FFRF’s banner was later stolen.
FFRF’s local complainant reported on Dec. 17 that the Rotary had been told it would have to move the nativity from 2016 onward.
County clerk removes religious poster
A Colorado county clerk has removed an overtly religious poster from the office where citizens, including same-sex couples, get their marriage licenses, following a complaint by FFRF.
The poster was removed the day after FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel asked Elbert County Clerk Dallas Schroeder to put him in touch with his attorney.
“We’re glad that the poster, which was meant to intimidate LGBT citizens and promote Schroeder’s personal religion, has been removed from government property,” Seidel said. “The government must remain neutral on matters of religion and quoting the bible is hardly neutral.”
In an email exchange between several county clerks discussing how to handle same-sex marriage licenses, Schroeder wrote on Aug. 9: “It is a picture of a bride standing on a hill with the groom walking up the hill to meet her. On the bottom I have a portion of the verse in I Corinthians where Paul says, ‘Each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.’ And cite the verse.”
But after being sent several letters from Seidel and asking to speak with his lawyer, Schroeder apparently relented and removed the poster, at least from the sight of county constituents.
Church withdraws request for public funds
After FFRF objected to a Vermont board’s proposal to give a grant to a church, the church has rescinded its request. The Waitsfield Select Board had voted to place an item on the Town Meeting ballot in March 2016 to give $1,500 to the Waitsfield United Church of Christ.
“The government may not fund projects for religious worship,” wrote Legal Fellow Ryan Jayne on Dec. 8. Jayne also pointed out that the Vermont Constitution prohibits funding of places of worship.
A Valley Reporter article published Dec. 24 said that to avoid controversy, the church representatives withdrew their request at the board’s Dec. 21 meeting — though not before castigating FFRF’s complainant for inviting “this crackpot Midwestern group into the discussion.”
