Federal judge: Louisiana teacher didn't violate prayer ban

[Judi Lynn]

Federal judge: Louisiana teacher didn't violate prayer ban

By The Associated Press
07.20.05
NEW ORLEANS — A Tangipahoa Parish teacher did not violate a prior agreement banning prayer in schools when she held a before-school Bible club and led students in a silent prayer following the Pledge of Allegiance, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan said yesterday that the language of the existing agreement between the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and the American Civil Liberties Union only prohibited religious invocations at athletic events, prayers offered over the public announcement system and prayer during school assemblies.

“This language simply does not prohibit all species of First Amendment violation nor prohibit all prayer on school property,” Berrigan wrote.

The ACLU had filed a motion to have the fourth-grade teacher, Pamela Sullivan, held in contempt for violating the agreement. In addition to leading the Bible club, the group also maintained Sullivan expressed disappointment to her students if they did not attend the meetings and urged them to bring Bibles to school.
(snip/...)

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=15565

[Nevernose]

1. One more thing to villify the left & ACLU for

The ACLU has won several suits claiming that students have the right to have bible clubs at school. The catch is that they can't be teacher-led bible clubs, but merely teacher-monitored. Once the teacher becomes invovled, it becomes a separation of church and state issue.

Most people watching Fox News won't be able to parse this difference out, however, and will result in yet more villification of liberals in general.