The Freedom From Religion Foundation has helped end a longstanding violation of prayers at a Michigan high school graduation ceremony.
A concerned student at Galesburg-Augusta High School in Galesburg, Mich., contacted FFRF hoping to stop at her upcoming May 31, 2013 graduation.
FFRF Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert contacted Galesburg-Augusta Superintendent Tim Vagts on Feb. 18 requesting the prayer be dropped from the graduation ceremony. Markert noted such prayer violates church/state separation, and decades of Supreme Court precedent protect students from religious ritual at graduations.
“The Supreme Court has settled this matter—high school graduations must be secular to protect the freedom of conscience of all students,” she said.
Vagts affirmed on May 1 that prayer would not be included in the high school’s graduation ceremony this year or at any future graduation.