R.J. Fisher Middle School’s graduation ceremony will no longer be held at Calvary Church after the Freedom From Religion Foundation lodged a complaint.
Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote the Los Gatos Union School District superintendent on June 16, 2014, informing her that holding public school graduations in houses of worship “is unconstitutional because it forces graduating students and their family and friends wishing to participate in, view, or celebrate the graduation to enter a church to do so, even if the selected church espouses a religious ideology or belief to which they may not adhere.”
Superintendent Diana Abbati responded Nov. 20, 2014, writing that the district would be moving its 2015 graduation ceremonies to “a venue not affiliated with a religious entity.”