District's ban on religious speech ordered to trial

Teachers say they are literally forced to pray in school closets to avoid contempt charges

A federal judge has ordered a trial on a Florida school district's restriction of religious speech – a policy that can be interpreted as forbidding even such common references as "God bless" when someone sneezes.

The announcement came today from Liberty Counsel, which has been fighting the policy for several years.

"School employees do not lose their constitutional rights as a precondition to receiving a government paycheck," said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel. "The ACLU-crafted Consent Decree is outrageous and blatantly unconstitutional. It literally attempted to criminalize Christianity. We are pleased that this assault on the Constitution has been halted."

Liberty Counsel confirmed today that U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers granted in part a preliminary injunction sought on behalf of 24 clients of Liberty Counsel and planned a hearing on the rest of the claims.

The legal team at Liberty Counsel said the Santa Rosa County, Fla., School Board had accepted a Consent Decree that had been crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The decree was the result of an earlier lawsuit prompted by complaints that adults were praying at optional and privately sponsored off-campus events in the Santa Rosa County School District. The decree generated concerns that school staff members, fearing reprisal, were forced to hide in a closet to pray when a family lost a child.

The original case came after two high school seniors in 2008 brought the complaint under the pseudonym of "Doe." The final solution adopted by the school board was a Consent Decree crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union which since then has been used to threaten employees with fines and jail time for actions as personal as praying over a meal.

Liberty Counsel then brought a legal challenge. Just months ago, it gave a "Notice of Potentially Improper or Unethical Conduct" requesting an investigation into how a new principal at Pace High School, Bryan Shell, became involved in the case apparently without his authorization.

The ACLU and the school district had asked the judge to dismiss Liberty Counsel's challenge, but the judge said the lawsuit must be allowed to proceed.

"Affirming Liberty Counsel's long-standing position that the Consent Decree unconstitutionally bans the private speech of teachers, students, parents and community members at school, the court concluded that 'confusion exists regarding when [school employees] are acting in their official capacity, subject to the restrictions in the consent decree and other school policies, or when they are free to act or speak in a private capacity at school events,'" Liberty Counsel confirmed.

The court also found that "substantial confusion exists regarding what speech or conduct is permitted during school events."

The trial is expected this summer, but Rodgers said the preliminary injunction was needed so that school employees may participate in baccalaureate events if they choose.

The judge ordered the school board not to enforce "any school policy that restrains in any way an employee's participation in, or speech or conduct during, a private religious service, including baccalaureate."

As part of the long battle in the district, Liberty Counsel was successful in 2009 defending employee Michelle Winkler on contempt charges brought by the ACLU after her husband, who is not employed by the district, offered a meal prayer at a private event in a neighboring county.

Also, Liberty Counsel successfully defended former Pace High School Principal Frank Lay, now retired, and Athletic Director Robert Freeman on criminal contempt charges. The ACLU complained that Freeman offered a blessing for a lunch for some 20 adult booster club members.

According to Liberty Counsel, under the decree and the official district guidelines, "teachers are always considered to be acting in their 'official capacity' whenever a student is present, even at private functions off campus. Teachers cannot pray, bow their heads or fold their hands to show agreement with anyone who does pray. Teachers and staff cannot 'Reply' to an e-mail sent by a parent if the parent's e-mail refers to God or Scripture. Teachers either have to delete such references from the original e-mail or reply by initiating a new e-mail. Teachers and staff are also required to stop students from praying in their own private club meetings. During witness testimony, Winkler cried as she described how she and a coworker, who had recently lost a child, had to hide in a closet to pray."

The two hid in the closet because they were worried about being seen and being held in contempt of court under the ACLU-negotiated decree.

Members of the 2009 graduating class at Pace High School expressed their objections to the ACLU restrictions on statements of religious faith at their school by rising up en masse at their ceremony and reciting the Lord's Prayer.

Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace stood up at their graduation, according to Staver. Parents, family and friends joined in the recitation and applauded the students when they were finished, Staver told WND.