FL public school principal faces 6 month in jail for school prayer

[varun]

I hope he gets jailtime.

Tired of these Christofascists.


http://www.examiner.com/x-10853-Portland-Humanist-Examiner~y2009m8d17-Florida-administrators-stand-trial-for-prayer-in-school

Frank Lay, Pace High School principal, and Robert Freeman, the school's athletic director, will appear on criminal contempt charges for offering public prayer in a public school. The administrators face up to 6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine for offering a mealtime prayer. Lay and Freeman go on trial today at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). By violating the court order, the two are in danger of being found in contempt of court.

Pace High School, located in Florida's Santa Rosa County School District, is a school of more than 1,800 students. Pace is known by many as "the Baptist Academy." For years, teachers and staff delivered prayers, mandated students complete religious-oriented assignments and encouraged involvement in religious clubs. Teachers offered Bible readings or biblical interpretations and talked about the churches they attended. Christian prayers during sporting events and other activities were common. All this was encouraged and endorsed by Principal Frank Lay.

The school district has allowed flagrant violations of the First Amendment for years. The Pace High School teachers handbook asks teachers to "embrace every opportunity to inculcate, by precept and example, the practice of every Christian virtue."

After years of warnings and abuse, last year the ACLU finally filed a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming that teachers and administration "endorsed" religion. Rather than fight, the School District consented to the entry of an order that prohibited, among other things, all prayer at school-sponsored events. Nine days after Lay signed the temporary injunction, he was accused of violating the order...

[southernyankeebelle]

1. Am a catholic and I do not want my religion or anyoneelse religion being taught in public school.

After all who's religion are we going to teach. I don't want anyone teaching my child about the bible because it was written by man and everyone inteprets what they want to in the bible. No offense many times I think that some of these so called preachers don't know what the heck they are taking about. Many do not have religious training like many of the main stream religions. Believe me living in the south you guys that are preachers that have no business being preachers. Yet they say they get the calling. Honestly they are nothing more than crooks and liars.