No. In Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000), the United States Supreme Court held that a policy permitting student-led “invocations” before football games violates the Establishment Clause. The Supreme Court refused to view the expression as “private speech” because the messages were delivered over the school’s public address system by a student body member under the supervision of school faculty and under a school policy that encouraged public prayer. Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court considered the prayer to be “school-sponsored.”
Is prayer allowed at public school football or basketball games?
About Swier School Law Counsel™
Swier School Law Counsel™ is a boutique education law department within Swier Law Firm.
We recognize the needs of South Dakota's school officials to obtain first-rate legal advice on a broad range of issues. Our attorneys provide creative, timely, and cost-efficient legal strategies that balance the needs of students, parents, employees, and citizens with the interests of keeping a school district on solid legal footing.
Swier School Law Counsel™ and its attorneys author The South Dakota School Law Deskbook™ and South Dakota School Law Notes™. The Group's attorneys also have years of experience teaching the popular "Education and the Law" class at the University of South Dakota School of Law.
Swier Law Firm has served as legal counsel for school districts throughout the state and for the School Administrators of South Dakota and its membership. SASD is an educational association comprised of over 800 school administrators (Superintendents, Business Managers, Principals, Special Education Directors, and Curriculum Directors) throughout South Dakota.
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