A school board of directors in Mercersburg, Penn., will no longer conduct prayer at meetings, thanks to a complaint sent by FFRF. FFRF Staff Attorney Elizabeth Cavell sent the letter on Sept. 8, informing the board members that praying before meetings is divisive and unconstitutional.
“Calling upon Board members, as well as parents and students of the school, to pray is coercive and beyond the scope of our secular school system. Board members are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way.”
The letter noted, “The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, has definitively held that school board prayer is unconstitutional.”
The Board President Superintendent of Tuscarora School District responded on Sept. 24, informing FFRF that, “The Tuscarora School District Board of Directors will no longer open their monthly meetings with prayer.”
