School prayer received a boost in Florida but took a hit in Louisiana in recent court actions.
The U.S. Supreme Court side-stepped a school prayer controversy, leaving intact a Florida school policy that allows student-led “messages” – which may include prayer – at high school graduation exercises.
A federal appeals court, meanwhile, struck down a Louisiana law that judges said promotes school prayer.
The Supreme Court declined to review an 8-4 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a policy of the Duval County School Board in Jacksonville, Fla.
The policy allows high school seniors to decide by vote whether they want one of their classmates to deliver a “brief opening and/or closing message” at commencement ceremonies.
Since th4e Supreme Court did not rule on the Adler vs. Duval case, the 11th Circuit’s decision only applies in states over which it has jurisdiction – Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
Meanwhile, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a Louisiana law that allowed for spoken prayers in public school classrooms.
Louisiana legislators in 1999 amended a state law by deleting the word “silent” from a provision that previously allowed a brief time each day for silent prayer or meditation.
Civil-liberties groups filed suit on behalf of parents, saying that the change opened the door to teacher- or principal-led school prayer, which the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional.
(ABP)
Share with others: