On April 30, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued a preliminary injunction barring a student-led prayer at a high school graduation ceremony. The lawsuit against the school district was brought by the ACLU on behalf of a graduating senior, who was also valedictorian. The school designed a process where each graduating senior had to vote on whether to have a student-led prayer at graduation. The majority of students voted to have a prayer. The court found that the student had standing to sue, and that the school’s voting process violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The court noted that the offering of a prayer at the high school graduation does not, by itself violate the Constitution. However, the school’s policy “purposefully encourage[d] the delivery of a majority-sanctioned prayer at a regularly scheduled, school sponsored function,” and thus violated the Constitution. To read the decision, click here.
