"On 6 Jun 10, Northescambia.com reported that Govenor Charlie Crist (R-FL) signed into law a bill which was referred to as a “once controversial school prayer bill.” The report related that the bill “grew out of a Panhandle dispute where the Santa Rosa School District had teachers sign a consent decree not to participate in any religious activity at school. The new law prohibits districts from forcing any school personnel to not participate in religious activity.”
The article stated, “The new law is designed to preempt future ACLU attacks on the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech, including religious speech, such as the recent attack in Santa Rosa County that led to then-Pace High School Student Body President Mary Allen being censored and barred from speaking at her own high school graduation, as well as Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman being charged with criminal contempt of court for offering a blessing at an adults-only event.”
According to a 7 Jun 10 LifeSiteNews.com report, the law would “prevent situations like that generated in the Santa Rosa County school district, where school officials caved to ACLU pressure and signed onto a Consent Decree in 2008 which prohibited religious expression, such as voluntary, student-initiated prayers or off-the-clock religious discussion among adults.”
The article went on to relate that some public school staff complained that the decree forced them to “practically have to hide in closets to pray and have been forbidden to participate freely in private, off-campus baccalaureate services. The court testimony also stated that under the agreement reached with the ACLU teachers could not reply to emails from parents containing the words 'God bless' or other religious language, and that staff have to censor private, after-school groups from engaging in religious expression or prayer.”
According to the Florida House of Representatives records, the original version of the bill contained a provision to allow inspirational messages. The provision read, “District school boards are authorized, but not required, to permit the delivery of an inspirational message, including a prayer or an invocation, at a noncompulsory high school activity, including a student assembly, a sports event, or other school-related activity, if a majority of the participating students request the delivery of an inspirational message and select a student representative to deliver the message.”
The provision was removed from the final bill. The final version of the bill contains a single provision. In relation to the protection of school speech, the bill states, “District school boards, administrative personnel, and instructional personnel are prohibited from taking affirmative action, including, but not limited to, the entry into any agreement, that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the absence of the express written consent of any individual whose constitutional rights would be impacted by such infringement or waiver.”
A summary of the Rosa County issue was reported in the Guardian Angel Store news summaries on 24 Aug 09. According to the summary, the school entered into the agreement with the ACLU as a means to avoid mounting legal fees.
Cited Articles and Posts
Northescambia.com (6 Jun 10)
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=18204
LifeSiteNews.com (7 Jun 10)
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10060701.html
Florida House of Representatives (7 Jun 10)
Florida House Bill 31 Original (Not Dated)
Florida House Bill 31 Enrolled (Not Dated)
Guardian Angel Store (24 Aug 09)
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