Humanist group files for summary judgment in public school prayer case
The American Humanist Association filed for summary judgment in its legal complaint against the Greenville County School District, a lawsuit challenging the school district's practice of including prayer in its public elementary school graduation ceremonies and its practice of holding the graduations in a Christian chapel.
"Numerous cases make clear that public schools, particularly elementary schools, must strictly maintain the separation of church and state and must not include prayer in school-sponsored events such as graduation ceremonies," said Monica Miller, an attorney with the association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center.
"Given that this school district has been including prayers in its elementary school graduation ceremonies since 1951, and has recently been holding the ceremonies in a Christian chapel of a Christian university, we ask that the court grant judgment in our favor."
In a statement, Greenville Schools officials said the district's legal counsel was reviewing the association's motion.
"The District's position and response to the American Humanist Association has been consistent," the statement said. "The law supports the District's practice that students who are selected to speak based upon neutral criteria, such as academic performance, have the First Amendment right to speak from either a religious or secular perspective.
"The law also supports the District's use of a building owned by another organization, including a college affiliated with a religion, for legitimate reasons such as accommodating spectators without unconstitutionally endorsing religion."
The association's legal center filed the complaint in the Greenville Division of U.S. District Court against the school district on behalf of a local family in September, 2013, after sending a letter to officials at Mountain View Elementary School in Taylors.
The lawsuit described Christian prayers being offered at the elementary school's graduations, which were held at the chapel of North Greenville University, a school with the logo "Christ Makes the Difference."
The chapel setting includes numerous Christian symbols, such as crosses, stained glass windows, statues and other religious iconography, the association said in court filings.
The motion for summary judgment asks the court to rule in the plaintiffs' favor.
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that the elementary school's practices of endorsing prayer and hosting graduations in a chapel is a violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. It also seeks a permanent injunction preventing the school from undertaking such activities in the future.
Previously, school district officials countered in court filings that more than a year had passed since the allegedly offensive fifth-grade awards program for Mountain View Elementary students was held at North Greenville.
The officials said they have adopted a position of neutrality toward the content and viewpoint of student speech and there was no reason to "lay in wait" to pursue legal action. A sweeping injunction isn't warranted, the officials said.
A federal appeals court kept alive the Upstate family's attempt to stop local school officials from holding elementary-school graduation ceremonies in a university chapel and including prayer in the program.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond vacated Senior U.S. District Judge G. Ross Anderson Jr.'s ruling denying the humanist association's request for a preliminary injunction.
The appeals court said in its ruling the district court provided no legal analysis for its decision. The appellate court ordered a different judge should consider the case.
FROM GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS:
The Greenville County Schools statement regarding the Humanist Association's filing for summary judgment in a public school prayer case:
The District's position and response to the American Humanist Association has been consistent. The law supports the District's practice that students who are selected to speak based upon neutral criteria, such as academic performance, have the First Amendment right to speak from either a religious or secular perspective. The law also supports the District's use of a building owned by another organization, including a college affiliated with a religion, for legitimate reasons such as accommodating spectators without unconstitutionally endorsing religion. Our legal counsel is reviewing the motion, and we can strongly state that we do not agree with the organization's blanket statements about the District. We remain confident of our position in maintaining an educational environment, including an awards program, in which individuals are treated with equal dignity and respect regardless of religion or faith. The District will continue to defend its neutral stance on religion that results from the obligation to balance the First Amendment's prohibition of promoting religion with the protected ability for individuals to express themselves from a religious perspective.