Let us all appreciate the public schools that openly brag about how they’re violating the Establishment Clause. They make everything so much easier for First Amendment attorneys.
The American Humanist Association says that the Griffin First United Methodist Church was allowed to host “a breakfast and sermon for football players” at Spalding High School in Georgia. The same school has a softball coach that leads the team in prayers before games.
All of this is illegal. Coaches can’t encourage or participate in such prayers. And lucky for us, there’s evidence right on the Facebook page of the Griffin-Spalding School Systems:
Now the AHA is calling for the district to put a stop to this:
Permitting the infiltration of religion into a public school — or, as here, publicly celebrating it on social media — is an affront to the Establishment Clause. It is particularly problematic given that this is a team atmosphere, where young people are under great pressure to conform to group expectations.
Attorney Monica Miller is making four specific demands of the district: They must “adopt a written policy” banning staffers (including coaches and teachers) from “leading endorsing, facilitating, and participating in prayer with students.” They must stop letting church leaders host events for school functions. They must enforce the policies and punish those who break the rules. And they must stop using the district’s social media accounts to promote religion.
Those are fairly simple requests. Just follow the law. Stop advertising Christianity like it’s good for students. It’s not hard. Better schools do it all the time.
The irony is that if the district didn’t brag about what it was doing, there’s a chance they might have gotten away with it.