The Indian River School District in Delaware continues to be at the center of controversy about school prayer. An article in today's Sussex County (Delaware) Post reports that the board of education last week made minor changes in its policy on prayer at graduation ceremonies and baccalaureate services in the district. After a controversy in 2004, the board adopted a policy that provides that student-initiated, student-delivered, voluntary messages are permitted during such ceremonies. The most recent revisions deal with who is responsible for selecting student speakers and reviewing their speeches.
Lawsuits against the school district are pending challenging the Board's continuing practice of opening school board meetings with a prayer, its extensive pattern of school-sponsored prayer at graduation, and its promotion of Christianity in other contexts. (See prior postings 1, 2.) Last week, Jews on First published a long account of the charges against the school district and reported that the Jewish family that filed the 2004 lawsuit against the district felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, out of fear of retaliation.
