Thanks to FFRF, Arizona’s Dysart Unified School District will not plan, promote or participate in “See You at the Pole,” a Christian prayer event put on by a religious club. The school district will uphold their constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion.
An email sent from a Valley Vista High School employee asked all school district teachers and staff to join in for “See You at the Pole” on Sept. 28. The email explained that the event was “a day committed to global unity in Christ and prayer for your generation.”
In a letter to DUSD Superintendent Gail Pletnick, FFRF Legal Fellow Madeline Ziegler informed the school district that a public school employee must not lead, direct or encourage students to engage in prayer.
Ziegler informed Pletnick that it is also unconstitutional for public school employees to participate in the religious activities of their students.
FFRF received a response on Sept. 28 from the executive director for human resources at Dysart Unified School District, Patti Buck, who wrote that the school staff had been informed that staff members must not participate in the school religious event.
