A concerned resident reported to FFRF that a Dekalb County School Board member had been using her position to promote her religious beliefs to students and staff, including religious remarks she made at the 2017 Arabia Mountain High School graduation ceremony and the 2017 Dekalb County Schools Convocation.
On April 12, FFRF Legal Fellow Christopher Line wrote Dekalb County School District’s Chief Legal Officer, Jennifer Hackenmeyer, to notify the district that no public school representative may urge religious points of view on students, including telling them that they should “magnify the Lord,” “exalt his name,” or “put God first” — all things the board member had said during school functions.
An attorney representing the district replied to FFRF’s complaint on June 26, writing that the district “does not sponsor religious speeches” and has “provided a secular script for board members during the 2018 graduation.”