Is there any time of year more exciting for a church-state watcher than graduation season? Here's an update of recent events.
New Jersey's Netpune Township and the ACLU have come to a compromise agreement on the commencement venue for Monmouth County High School.
The board agreed to cover religious symbols inside and students and guests will enter through side and back doors to avoid the cross over the front of the 19th building in the former religious enclave.
In Louisiana, AU, the ACLU and FFRF sent a letter to Bastrop High School officials (where Damon Fowler courageously spoke up) to complain about its recent graduation, in which a student speaker purposefully violated the school's agreement to hold a moment of silence rather than a prayer.
In the future, the school system should ensure that graduation exercises are not exploited to present religious messages. The moment-of-silence can be presented by a school official rather than a student. If a student is used, the District cannot passively sit by if the student once again abuses this opportunity.
And in Georgia's Cherokee County, graduations will proceed at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, despite complaints that the facility is inappropriate, and the threat of a lawsuit.
Rob Usher, a member of the county's school board, said there are good reasons to use the 7,500-seat megachurch: It's cheap. It's big. It's air-conditioned.
"It's a fantastic facility, and the price is awesome," Usher said.
[A special kindergarten UPDATE: Freedom from Religion Foundation has sent a letter to Giles County, Tennessee officials after reports that a kindergarten graduation included Christian prayer from a local minister.]
