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Montana High Court OK's Valedictorian's Religious References

By Howard M. Friedman

In a 6-1 decision last week, the Montana Supreme Court held that school officials violated the free speech rights of a graduating senior when it censored on the basis of viewpoint her proposed valedictory remarks.  In Griffith v. Butte School District No. 1, (MT Sup. Ct., Nov. 19, 2010), school officials objected to the religious references in following passage in the prepared remarks of one of the co-valedictorians:

I learned to persevere these past four years, even through failure orndiscouragement, when I had to stand for my convictions. I can say that my regrets are few and far between. I didn?t let fear keep me from sharing Christ and His joy with those around me. I learned to impart hope, to encourage people to treat each day as a gift. I learned not to be known for my grades or for what I did during school, but for being committed to my faith and morals and being someone who lived with a purpose from God with a passionate love for Him.

The majority rejected any Establishment Clause conerns about the propoed seech, saying:

We find it unreasonable for the School District to conclude that Griffith?s cursory references to her personal religious beliefs could be viewed by those in attendance at the BHS graduation ceremony as a religious endorsement by the School District.

Justice Leaphart dissenting argued that the student's proposed remarks created Establishmnet Clause concerns:

Attendance at high school graduation is compulsory. The speakers chosen by the school clearly have a ?captive? audience. The student body of a public school is presumably very diverse with a mix of Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, and agnostics, many of whom would resent being required to attend a ceremony in which Christ and His Joy was being shared with those present in the captive audience.

The Missolian reports on the decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on November 23, 2010 (boomark / email).