JUDGE SAYS PRAYER BAN OK : OFFICIALS PROHIBITED IN PROMOTING , ENDORSING RELIGION IN SANTA ROSA COUNTY SCHOOL IN UNITED STATES

A federal judge on Friday approved a consent decree that calls for Santa Rosa County School District officials to stop promoting their religious beliefs in schools.

School officials now are prohibited from promoting or endorsing prayers during school functions and from organizing school functions at religious venues. The consent decree must be distributed to all employees.
"The court has ensured that decisions about religion will be left in the hands of families and faith communities and not public school officials," said Benjamin Stevenson, an American Civil Liberties Union of Florida attorney based in Pensacola.
The ACLU and ACLU of Florida sued the district in August on behalf of two unnamed Pace High School students. The students claimed school officials regularly promoted religion and led prayers at school events.
District officials admitted the allegations. Board members signed a consent decree in March that listed steps the district will take to end the violations.
School Board Chairman Ed Gray said they intend to abide by the judge's order.
"We think we can still have an open door for all groups to use the schools. The law provides for that," he said. "But, we will make sure we do not infringe upon the religious rights of any student."
Religious freedom is best promoted when the government stays out of religion, Stevenson said.
"Now, students and their families can feel comfortable holding and expressing their own religious beliefs, knowing that school officials will no longer impose their particular religious beliefs on students at school," he said. "This is a truly victorious day for the Constitution and for religious freedom in Florida."
The Rev. Matt Cotten, minister of education and outreach at Pine Terrace Baptist Church in Milton, said he is not surprised a judge would sign the order.
"The representation for the county failed to defend our rights well," he said. "The wording is sufficiently convoluted to distract from the intent of the Constitution while appearing not to infringe upon our rights."
Today, Cotten plans to have the OK2Pray.org Rally for Education at Milton High School.
"I believe in everyone's right to worship, pray, not worship or not pray," he said. "I stand, and will continue to stand, for freedom."
The rally can be on Milton High's grounds because it is not sponsored by the school or school system representatives and is on a Saturday, district officials said.

STUDENT MADE POSTERS CENSORED FOR USING ' FAITH WORDS ' IN TENNESSEE

An elementary school in Tennessee, after successfully rebuffing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit over religious expression on campus, has nonetheless ordered the words "God Bless the USA" and "In God We Trust" covered up on student-made posters in the hallway.

Administrators at Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., told parents that the posters, promoting the See You at the Pole student prayer event, mentioned "God" and are therefore precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate.
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance defending religious liberty, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of 10 parents and their children, seeking an injunction against banning private religious expression on student-made posters.
"Christian students shouldn't be censored for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum in a statement. "It's ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer – one of which is the national motto itself – on posters announcing a student-led activity."
Further, Kellum surmised, "School officials appear to be having an allergic reaction to the ACLU's long-term record of fear, intimidation, and disinformation, despite a previous court ruling at this very school that said students can observe these types of events on school property."

In 2006, lawyers from the ACLU sued the school to stop it from recognizing religious events, including See You at the Pole and the National Day of Prayer.
In May 2008, a U.S. District Court judge refused to grant the ACLU's request.
This year, each poster, made on personal time without the use of any school funds or supplies, included the disclaimer: "See You at the Pole is a student-initiated and student-led event and is not endorsed by Lakeview Elementary or Wilson County schools."
Nevertheless, the lawsuit states, the school's assistant principal told parents – upon advisement from the principal and director of schools for the county – that Scripture verses and phrases mentioning "God" would not be permitted on the posters. Even "come pray" was deemed in violation of school policy for using the word "pray."
With the date of the "See You at the Pole" event only a few days away, rather than asking the students to make new posters, the school provided green slips of paper to obscure the offending words.
WND contacted Lakeview Elementary's vice principal, but she declined to comment until she could familiarize herself with the details of the lawsuit.
Attorneys from ADF contend the disclaimer statement on the posters was more than enough to release the school from any perceived endorsement of the "God" messages, and that burying the words behind green paper constitutes a clear violation of First Amendment rights.
"The Constitution prohibits government officials from singling out religious speech for censorship," Kellum said, "but this is exactly what Lakeview school officials did when they ordered these words to be covered."