Student-Led High School Graduation Prayers Challenged

In Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, the school board voted earlier this month to allow students at each of the parish's six high schools to decide whether or not they want to include a prayer in their graduation ceremonies this year. The Ouachita Parish High School class voted unanimously to include prayer, according to its principal Todd Guice. Guice says he offered any student who objected an opportunity to discuss the issue privately with him, but none did. This week, the Louisiana branch of the ACLU faxed a letter to the the high school and the school board alleging that the new policy is unconstitutional. The Leesville Daily Leader today reports on Superintendent Bob Webber’s response: "We are simply allowing the students to continue the tradition of prayer at graduation. We're going to allow it with little or no influence by the adults concerned."