Silent Night” and other religious songs will remain off the program at holiday concerts in one New Jersey school district after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a school ban on religious holiday music.
By deciding Oct. 4 not to hear the case, the high court ended a six-year legal battle that started when parent Michael Stratechuk sued the School District of South Orange and Maplewood over a policy that barred religious songs at public concerts.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban last year, and Stratechuk attempted to take the case to the higher court.
“There’s nothing more, short of the school district changing its policy,” Stratechuk’s attorney Robert J. Muise said.
While the circuit ruling technically only applies to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Muise worries the high court’s rejection of the case could lead to a chilling effect on school districts across the country.
“Religion has not been banned totally in schools but we’re headed in that direction,” he said. “The South Orange-Maplewood Schools are in the forefront of taking that step.”
In a statement, school Superintendent Brian Osborne said the policy “was adopted to promote an inclusive environment for all students in our school community. We have always felt our policy was constitutional and are pleased with the outcome.”
In the 1990s, South Orange-Maplewood adopted a policy banning the use of religious songs in school performances. (RNS)
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