For the second time, FFRF worked with the Guthrie Public Schools system in Oklahoma after being informed that the National Honor Society induction ceremony included an unconstitutional scheduled prayer. FFRF was informed by a district parent that the National Honor Society induction ceremony at Guthrie High School included a scheduled prayer. The complainant felt unwelcome and alienated by the inclusion of a scheduled Christian prayer at the school-sponsored event. “As you are aware, public school students have a constitutional right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote in a letter to legal representation for the district John G. Moyer. Moyer wrote back, informing FFRF that the matter will be resolved. “Dr. Simpson, Superintendent, believed that the issue of including a prayer had been resolved in 2020 and was dismayed to learn that it was not removed from a form that was subsequently relied upon,” Moyer wrote. “Superintendent Simpson has directed me to assure you that this matter will be addressed at the district’s Administrative Council meeting this month and that everyone understands that this must not happen again.”
December 18, 2023
