Constitutional Law

Va. school board votes to rehang Ten Commandments

By By The Associated Press

PEARISBURG, Va. — Heeding the complaints of hundreds of parents, a southwest Virginia school system is returning copies of the Ten Commandments to all of its public schools.

The Giles County school board decided yesterday to rehang the commandments in the district?s five schools and technology center after the outpouring from parents.

The Roanoke Times reported that framed copies of the religious codes, which had been displayed alongside the U.S. Constitution for more than ten years, were removed in December after a letter was sent to school officials from the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The organization said the displays violated the Constitution and should be removed. An attorney for the school district agreed, the newspaper reported, so Superintendent Terry Arbogast II complied.

If the dispute heads to court, Chairman Eric Gentry of the Giles County Board of Supervisors said the county would support the school in court.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on January 20, 2011 (boomark / email).