Round Rock School District Under Fire

Looks like Round Rock ISD is headed to court over their policies on organized prayers at school events. Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, representing six students and one former student, have filed suit against the district, saying that its policy of allowing school-sponsored prayer at graduation ceremonies violates the First Amendment principle of church-state separation.

Every year, each of the four Round Rock high schools (Round Rock, Stony Point, McNeil and Westwood) conducts a vote, allowing the class to decide whether to have an official prayer at its graduation ceremony. District officials claim to have put much careful thought into the process, and when asked about the policy, Superintendent Jesús Chávez said, "'Through the graduation process, we worked with our attorneys, and we followed federal court cases as closely as possible.' "

The district shouldn't be patting itself on the back for taking itself out of the decision process on this issue. The reasons why people balk at organized prayers at public school events still hold true here. Compelling students to vote on the issue may result in a potential tyranny of the majority–and marginalization of those who aren't part of the predominant religion–or make it worse than if the district itself had made the decision. Students who unsuccessfully vote against having a school-sponsored prayer will likely feel more alienated, knowing that their own classmates are behind the movement, than if it were a district-wide policy handed down from on high (so to speak). Even asking the students to vote on the issue can make them feel pressured, regardless of the outcome.

But wait, there's more.