The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals has enjoined a school board from complying with its official policy that calls for a prayer to open the school board meeting.  This issue is now nicely teed up for Supreme Court review. Just last year our 5^th Circuit gave its approval to the practices of Birdville ISD.  In Birdville, a student made an opening presentation which, more often than not, was a prayer. The 5^th Circuit held that school board meetings are more like legislative sessions than they are high school football games. While that may seem like a strange comparison, it’s based on prior SCOTUS rulings. The High Court was OK with prayers at a legislative session or a city council meeting, but not with a high school football game.  What’s the big difference?  The presence of young people.

And that’s what was crucial in the 9^th Circuit case. The court pointed out that students, some as young as second grade, were often at school board meetings to either perform or be recognized. Moreover, a high school student served as an active member of the board.  As the court noted, concerns over the Establishment Clause (more familiarly known as the principle of church-state separation) are particularly acute when young, impressionable minds are exposed to government officials endorsing a particular religious view.

So it continues.  We may see a case on this issue decided by the Supreme Court. We now have three circuits that have shot down school board prayer (3^rd, 6^th and 9^th) while the 5^th was OK with it, at least as they did it in Birdville. That kind of disagreement among the Circuit Courts is usually the basis for a decision by our highest court. So stay tuned.

This one is Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Chino Valley USD, decided by the 9^th Circuit on July 25, 2018. We found it at 896 F.3d 1132.

DAWG BONE: SOMETHING TO KEEP THOSE NINE JUSTICES BUSY…

Tomorrow: if the student has dyslexia is she automatically eligible for special education?