At the Grand Prairie Ninth Grade Center annual awards ceremony, a school board member issued a Christian prayer ending with “In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.” The invocation was followed by the song, “We are Marching in the Light of God.”
On May 25, 2011, Stephanie Schmitt of FFRF sent a letter to Grand Prairie Independent School District in Grand Prairie, Texas to alert it to the fact that it “is unlawful for any school-sponsored event, such as a banquet recognizing academic achievement, to present a prayer” and to demand that the District take the necessary steps to “ensure that Grand Prairie School students are not being forced—directly or indirectly—to sing songs of religious worship.” The District responded on June 2, 2011 assuring FFRF that the prayer was an isolated event that was not consistent with District Policy. The District also said that it would share the alternative secular version of the song, titled “We are Standing in the Light of Peace,” with the choral directors.
