Public Prayers at High School Graduations

• Key point. Student-initiated and led prayers at public high school graduation ceremonies may violate the first amendment's nonestablishment of religion clause, even if the senior class votes in favor of a prayer and a notice is placed in graduation programs informing attendees that the prayer is not endorsed by the school.

A federal appeals court ruled that a graduating senior could not recite a prayer at a public high school graduation ceremony, even though the senior class voted to include the prayer. A public high school adopted a policy allowing the senior class to conduct a poll of the graduating class to determine whether it wanted "a prayer, a moment of silence, or nothing at all" to be included in the graduation ceremony. The senior class elected to include a prayer, and a graduating senior was selected to give the prayer. School policy mandated that a disclaimer be printed ...