Lewis County Schools in Weston, W.Va., cancelled a Christian concert after receiving a letter of complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Both the middle and high school in Lewis County were scheduled to interrupt instructional time to host the Jason Lovins Band, a Christian rock group with a clear mission to "take the focus off themselves and point it to the One they sing about." Lovins has been known to give his own testimony during performances and frequently insists "life begins at conception." Lovins "testifies" that he was conceived as the result of rape and warns students against abortion. The event was sponsored by a student Christian club, Youth Alive.
"We are concerned that this assembly will be utilized by the Youth Alive club and their guest to push their religious agenda and religious values on a captive audience of students," wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt in a letter to Superintendent J. Mace.
Schmitt received a response from the school on March 9. A representative of the school district confirmed that the middle school assembly was cancelled. While the high school assembly took place, "no religion was brought into the assembly." The district assured Schmitt that it will "stay within the proper guidelines of separation of church and state."
An eighth grade teacher at Starmount Middle School in Booneville, N.C., will no longer proselytize to her students, thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The teacher said in class that "God is the only creator of the universe" and "evolution is not allowed to be considered." She also used skeletons adorned with T-shirts as teaching aids, including shirts that said "Jesus is my Homeboy" and "Mary is my Homegirl." The Secular Student Alliance sent two emails to the teacher, pushing for the removal of the offensive shirts. A third email went out to the school principal, but garnered no response. FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert intervened on Feb. 28: "Public schools are prohibited from teaching creationism or 'intelligent design.' Courts have routinely found that such teachings are religious and unconstitutional."
Markert argued that the t-shirt display directly violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. She added that schools may not display Christian or other religious messages on school grounds. "It is unconstitutional for the school to promote a Christian message to students through t-shirts put on display by a school official."
In a March 8 letter of reply, Superintendent L. Stewart Hobbs confirmed that the t-shirts had been removed.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has confirmed that the Wichita Falls Independent School District (Texas) will no longer issue a sectarian prayer at mandatory staff events.
On top of condoning public prayer, the school district held its August convocation at the First Baptist Church. Local complainants informed FFRF that School Board President Reginald Blow delivered the sectarian prayer during the staff meeting and invoked the name of "Jesus." All faculty and staff were required to attend this event. FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt initially wrote to Superintendent George Kazanas on Aug. 18, 2011: "It is grossly inappropriate for an official government meeting to be held in a religious place of worship. This practice forces employees, who may be of varying religions or have none at all, to enter a house of worship."
Schmitt sent two more letters of complaint to Kazanas before receiving a reply.
In his March 7 response, Kazanas assured Schmitt that the school district intends to comply with the Constitution and that "future convocations will not include a prayer."
Tullahoma City Schools (Tullahoma, Tenn.) will now prohibit distribution of bibles in its classrooms, after receiving a letter of complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Fifth graders at East Lincoln Elementary School were told by their teachers to come up and take a bible in their classrooms. FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt warned Superintendent Dan Lawson in a May 21 letter that “it is unconstitutional for public school districts to allow the distribution of bibles during the school day. "Courts uniformly have held the distribution of bibles to students at public schools is prohibited.”
In a May 29 letter of response, Lawson wrote that he would advise principals to prohibit such distribution in the future, assuring FFRF that “we fully adhere to a belief that we are responsible to be neutral in matters of religion.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has persuaded the principal of West Forsyth High School (Cumming, Ga.) to stop leading students in prayer.
The principal delivered a sectarian prayer at a mandatory meeting for graduating seniors. FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel sent a letter on May 24 to Forsyth County Schools Superintendent L.C. Evans: “While acting in their official role as public school employees, and while they are present in the classroom or public school, teachers and administrators may not pray with students.”
In a May 31 letter of reply, Superintendent L.C. Evans wrote that the school had investigated the situation and that “in the future prayers will not be delivered in such a setting.”
Thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an Auburn High School (Auburn, Wash.) football coach will not lead the team in prayer before games, nor will any other school district employees.
The prayers took place in the locker room, with team members and coaches bowing their heads and taking a knee. Everyone in the locker room was obligated to participate. FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote to the school district’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Timothy A. Cummings on May 23: “The prayers before Auburn High School’s football games constitute an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.”
Seidel also wrote that he was concerned that the prayers were not isolated to Auburn High School and requested that the school district investigate the practices at all of its public schools’ athletic games.
FFRF received a positive response from Assistant Superintendent Cummings on June 1. Cummings reported that “the school district’s athletic director has sent a memo to all building athletic directors to desist immediately with organized team prayers by coaches.” He also sent a copy of FFRF’s letter to all administrators and noted that “Principals will need to monitor closely so that staff refrains from leading prayers in school.” The district will also be hosting an in-service on the "Constitutionality of Prayer in Public Schools."
Football coaches at Hoover High School (Hoover, Ala.) will no longer engage in pre-game locker room prayers, thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to Hoover City Schools Superintendent Andy Craig on Jan. 6 to alert the school district that such prayers are unconstitutional. “By leading and participating in prayers, the coaches are sending a message of exclusion to nontheists on the football team and to those believers whose religion is not being professed during these locker room prayers,” Markert added.
FFRF received confirmation from the school district’s attorney on June 4 that coaches would not lead prayer or arrange for other adults to pray before football games in the future.
Lewis County Intermediate School (Hohenwald, Tenn.) will stop teachers from handing out religious materials in the classroom.
A local parent contacted FFRF after his fifth grade student came home with a bible and a permission slip for summer vacation bible school on separate occasions. FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt wrote to Director of Schools Benjamin L. Pace taking issue with these unconstitutional violations. “Public schools have a constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion,” Schmitt wrote in a May 23 letter. “When a school distributes religious literature to its students, it has unconstitutionally entangled itself with a religious message, in this case a Christian message.”
Pace responded on June 7, saying the district would re-visit materials that had been sent out and assuring FFRF that “we are ever aware of the constitutional protection of religious freedom.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation successfully persuaded a post office in Huntersville, N.C., to remove a Christian cross from behind a customer counter.
A local complainant noticed that the post office displayed a wooden, half-foot tall Latin cross behind its customer counter, on a prominent shelf, clearly viewed by all postal patrons. Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to the Huntersville postmaster on March 16, 2012: "This cross display violates post office regulations and the U.S. Constitution and must be removed immediately."
Markert pointed out that U.S. postal regulations prohibit the display of religious symbols, other than stamp art on postal property. She added that "no court of final resort has ever upheld the government's permanent display of a Latin cross on public land as constitutional."
The postmaster informed Markert on June 12 that "the cross has been removed."
Byron Nelson High School (Fort Worth, Texas) will no longer mix prayer with school-sponsored assemblies, thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF Staff Attorney Stephanie Schmitt sent a June 1, 2012, letter to Superintendent Karen Rue outlining significant "constitutional concerns" brought on by an end-of-the-year assembly. A prayer was delivered during this special event, which was scheduled to honor the senior class. A local complainant told FFRF that school officials had full knowledge of the prayer before it was given and that the assembly was mandatory for all students.
"It is unlawful for any school-sponsored event to open with prayer. FFRF asks that you immediately take action to ensure that future assemblies do not open or close with prayer," wrote Schmitt.
An attorney for the school district replied to FFRF on June 18: "The District has recently provided its administrators and educators with in-service training over a variety of issues, including those addressed in your letter." He added that the district staff was specifically trained on the "'do's and don'ts' of religion in public schools."
Students at Gloucester City (N.J.) Junior-Senior High School were spared participation in a church-hosted baccalaureate service, thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
FFRF was contacted by a complainant whose daughter was told that she could not opt out of the religious performance and that if she missed rehearsal or the ceremony, it would affect her grade. Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to Superintendent Paul Spaventa on June 11, two days before the service was scheduled: “No student should be forced to participate in the baccalaureate or suffer a failing or lower grade because they, in good conscience, cannot perform at a religious event.”
The school district’s solicitor replied on June 19, informing FFRF that after they received the letter, district personnel told all students that participation in the service was optional and that their grades would not be affected if they did not attend. He assured FFRF that “in the future a similar procedure will be used by the School District to ensure that only individuals who volunteer will participate in any type of Baccalaureate Service.”
Although the kids may be out of school, the Freedom From Religion Foundation knows that the Constitution doesn’t take a vacation.
Hazelwood Elementary School’s Summer Program in Haywood County, N.C., includes gardening crafts and games. However the school also scheduled trips to Vacation Bible School at a local Baptist church this year and in years past. The school arranged to allow transportation of students to a Baptist church to participate in Vacation Bible School for morning activities for a week (June 18-22, 2012), even after a shocked parent had complained and been assured it would not happen. Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott objected to the school’s entanglement with a bible school in a strong letter to the district’s superintendent, Anne Garnett. In his letter, Elliott explained that the school’s summer programming, including its registration forms, program handouts, and advertisement on the school website, all served to “facilitate student recruitment for religious indoctrination.” In citing legal precedent (including FFRF’s victory in Doe v. Porter), Elliott concluded, “The school’s promotion and coordination of a religious program is unconstitutional and cannot continue.”
An for Haywood County Schools wrote on June 21, “I have advised the Superintendent and Principal of Hazelwood Elementary School that in my opinion the coordination and advertising of a Vacation Bible School with a summer school program is improper. Though the Haywood County School System takes pride in complying with all laws involving religion, this matter unfortunately occurred.” The Superintendent “will implement plans to assure that future summer program . . . will not coordinate or advertise Vacation Bible School activities.”
Students at Horace Elementary School (West Fargo, N.D.) will no longer be forced to perform religious music after receiving a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Grades 3-5 at the school put on a program that included seven songs with strong religious themes, including “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Long Black Train.” Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to the school on June 8, explaining that “teaching these very young and impressionable students pervasively Christian music in a public school violates the First Amendment.”
Superintendent David Flowers responded June 25, saying that he agreed the concert had been inappropriate and that the district would be reviewing guidelines about religious music with the music staff in the fall.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation got two illegal church advertisements removed from Lexington School District One in Lexington, S.C.
Lexington School District One rents district facilities to local churches for worship services on the weekends. Forts Pond Elementary School had a permanently installed sign advertising worship services for United Tabernacle of God, IHPC. This sign was attached to the ground with wooden stakes. Another sign was positioned at Pelion High School and was displayed on weekends. This sign advertised worship services for Redirect Church. FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to Superintendent Karen Woodward on June 5, 2012: "It is inappropriate for the district to permit advertisement of religious organizations or churches, especially a permanent advertisement, on school property."
Markert noted that even if it is permissible to rent district facilities to churches, a public school should not allow any activity giving the appearance of promoting or supporting religion.
The school district sent a positive reply on June 25: "We were unaware of the sign at Forts Pond Elementary School. Thank you for pointing it out. It has been removed. We have also clarified with Pelion High School that the sign for Redirect Church is to be posted only on Sundays, the morning of the service."
Bret Harte Union High School (Angels Camp, Calif.) will stop distributing student contact information to St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, which was using the contact information to solicit student attendance at its annual baccalaureate.
A Bret Harte student contacted FFRF after receiving an invitation to the baccalaureate at St. Andrew’s. FFRF staff attorney Andrew Seidel wrote Bret Harte Union High School District Superintendent Michael Chimente, taking issue with this constitutional violation.
In his June 18 letter, Seidel wrote that the school’s conduct “would lead any reasonable person to believe that the government is endorsing a particular religion – Catholicism in this instance – and religion over nonreligion.” He further reasoned it was “shocking that a school, entrusted with the care, education and protection of minors, would give children’s information over to an organization known to harbor and shield sexual predators.” Seidel emphasized that the “Stockton diocese, of which Angels Camp is a part, has a sordid history of priests sexually abusing minors (at least 10 priests have been accused of sexual abuse of minors, two recently fled to Ireland)” including “one of the most notorious cases of a priest raping children ... Oliver Francis O’Grady, [who] confessed … to abusing at least 25 children.”
On June 26, Seidel received a call from Mr. Chimente assuring FFRF that Bret Harte would stop distributing students’ information to religious institutions, including St. Andrew’s. Mr. Chimente further assured FFRF that he would be more vigilant in upholding the Establishment Clause.