The Shelby County Schools district in Alabama is now keeping students free from religious coercion at future choir events after FFRF took action.
A district parent reported that Mt. Laurel Elementary School held a choir performance on May 7 at Metropolitan Church. The school’s music teacher also acts as choir director for the church. Prior to the performance, the teacher allowed one of the church’s directors to lead students and parents in prayer. FFRF’s complainant felt compelled to bow their head rather than dissent from the prayer. The director invited students and parents to join the church.
FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to the district’s legal representative Anne Knox Averitt, who responded to FFRF’s letter. “While the church staff has welcomed the guests at past concerts, the staff has not previously conducted a prayer at our concerts and we did not anticipate it happening here,” Averitt wrote. “We will clarify that with the church staff in the future when we use its facility.”
