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ACLU Sues Louisiana School Board Challenging ADF's Model Prayer Policy

By Howard M. Friedman

The ACLU of Louisiana announced yesterday that for the seventh time it has filed a lawsuit against Tangipahoa Parish School Board and its members, this time challenging the Board's policy on opening school board meetings with prayer. The federal court complaint (full text) challenges under the Establishment Clause the Board's policy which invites clergy in local congregations, on a first-come first-served basis, to lead an opening prayer before the formal opening of the Board meeting. An ACLU challenge to the Board's earlier prayer policy was dismissed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on standing grounds because there was no evidence in the record that plaintiffs ever attended a school board meeting where a prayer was recited. (See prior posting.) Plaintiff in the new case is a taxpayer, voter, father of two children enrolled in the local schools, and attends board meetings.

The AP yesterday reporting on the lawsuit said that the complaint "describes three board meetings at which ministers from different Christian denominations made Christian prayers. It also says [plaintiff's] wife asked ... if she could give an invocation, but was told that was reserved for ministers of congregations or police or fire department chaplains ? and that being "nondenominational" would also bar her...."

This suit may have more than local significance as the policy being challenged is a Model Prayer Policy that the Alliance Defense Fund has recommended to school boards and city councils around the country. (ADF release.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on March 01, 2008 (boomark / email).