The Lancaster County (S.C.) School District is taking steps to ensure an Indian Land Elementary teacher will no longer force her students to give prayers in class. FFRF learned that teacher Kathryn Watkins reportedly selected students at random to lead a prayer before lunch, continuing to select students until one gave a Christian prayer. “A prompt by a teacher for a student to lead the class in prayer carries the stamp of approval of the school. Ms. Watkins goes further by requiring one student to recite the prayer, and all students to listen, before they are permitted to eat lunch,”
wrote Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott in a May 8 letter.
School attorney Kathryn Mahoney wrote back May 26. FFRF’s concerns were addressed with the teacher, who now understands she’s not to lead a prayer or ask students to do so, Mahoney said.