Coerced Prayer Approved by School Board

On February 7^th, 2018 the Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed the lawsuit Does1-7 v. Bossier Parish School in Louisiana. The AU is representing seven parents of students who are arguing that a child’s parents or guardian, rather than the school district should decide how children learn about faith. The Bossier Parish School has allegedly violated the Establishment Clause with the widespread endorsement of Christianity and has refused to stop promoting blatantly religious practices that occur in this diverse public school district with over 22,500 students.

The plaintiffs’ complaint was filed in the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, stating their constitutional concerns and evidence of religious practices exposed to children of all backgrounds at the school. The Bossier Parish School principles, teachers, and coaches regularly require Christian prayer at school-sponsored events. The prayers, often referencing Jesus Christ, take place at graduation ceremonies, sporting events, banquets, pep rallies, student council meetings, etc. Additionally, school-sponsored choir events have been held in churches filled with religious symbols creating an atmosphere of indoctrination. The teachers at the school have reportedly required students to memorize sectarian prayers, advised students that ‘to be a good person one must be Christian’, and have invited diverse young students to attend local church gatherings that promote creationism and religious doctrine. These practices have been supported and encouraged by the School Board's policies.

The Bossier Parish School Board, lead by the Superintendent must comply with federal, state, and local law. The parents, in this case, argue that the Board and Superintendent are deciding religious education for the children by requiring Christian prayer practices. The plaintiffs argue that constitutional rights of both the parents and the students are being violated since parents should be the deciders of a child’s faith education, and the prayers violate the Establishment Clause based on past court case precedent. The names of the parents are anonymous in the case as their children have already been exposed to ostracism and bullying due to their lack of participation in the prayers and the parents’ complaints. By looking at the evidence that the school has allotted time schedules for prayers in school, at ceremonies, at sporting events, and other school-sponsored events, at which the school board and superintendent are in often attendance, it is clear that the district is knowingly ignoring federal laws. Not only is the Bossier School District allowing religion in a secular school system, it is endorsing a specific Christian message and coercing many students who do not follow this religion to abide.

Coerced school prayer, rather than just silent periods that could be used for voluntary prayer, in public schools has been ruled unconstitutional in Abington School District v. Schempp and Wallace v. Jaffrey. The majority opinion in Abington stated that the “most effective was to establish religion is to finance it” and these past cases and this case, Does1-7 v. Bossier Parish School, all involve the use of taxpayer dollars funding religious prayer, which is a direct sponsorship by the state of one particular religion. Bossier Parish School District is thus establishing Christianity within the school district and the state. Additionally, the use of prayer at graduation ceremonies was deemed a violation of the Establishment Clause in Lee v. Weisman, since allowing invocations and benedictions at school-sponsored events, like graduation ceremonies, does not have a secular purpose. Also, when a school official decides which clergy and what prayer should be given, this choice is attributed to the state, thus creating state and church entanglement. In Lee v. Weisman, the school attempted to be neutral by allowing different religious figures come to the graduation, however, the Bossier Parish School District is strict in its Christian views making this case easier to argue that this is a clear establishment of religion in a publically funded diverse school compared to Lee v. Wiseman. The parents of students who send their children to public school have the right to decide what role religion plays in their child’s life, and the Bossier Parish School Board's widespread endorsement and coerced Christian indoctrination on thousands of children violate precedent that has been set in the Supreme Court for decades.