FFRF fought to keep elementary school children in the General McLane School District in Pennsylvania from being taken to a religious ranch to be proselytized.
A concerned GMSD parent reported that, in May 2023, first-grade students of McKean Elementary School participated in a field trip, which included prayer and proselytizing remarks. The field trip occurred at WLD Ranch, whose mission is “to guide campers and guests to Jesus as the Truth in life.” FFRF’s complainant reported that a WLD Ranch staff member gathered the students together to engage in a prayer prior to a horseback-riding activity. Additionally, the complainant was uneasy that a field trip would take place at a Christian camp, but they wanted to give the school the benefit of the doubt that there would be no religious instruction. The unease then turned to mistrust in GMSD after learning that children were coerced into prayer.
FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler contacted Superintendent Matt Lane. On Aug. 13, 2023, Lane wrote back to Ziegler via email, writing that he “understood the concern,” and instead, would be “informing families/students that this trip does offer a prayer opportunity, but this opportunity is completely optional, not required for participation, and not a part of the district program.”
After receiving the email, Ziegler pushed back, writing that “it is not realistic to expect children as young as 6 years old to be one of the few to not go along with the rest of the class to pray, and the district should not be allowing the students in its care to be put in the position to make this choice.” After nearly a year of silence, FFRF received a follow-up letter from Lane, writing, “students at General McLane are no longer attending WLD Ranch as part of a school-sponsored trip.”
