N.Y. school ordered to let kindergartner say grace

By The Associated Press

02.06.02

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Editor's note: On April 12, U.S. District Judge David Hurd issued a preliminary injunction allowing Kayla Broadus to say prayers out loud before mealtimes at school. The Associated Press reported that on June 11, the Saratoga Springs school board approved a settlement allowing the kindergartner to pray out loud before snack time so long as she does not invite others to do the same. Board officials maintain she always had that right, and that the settlement — which asks for no money from the district — changes nothing.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — A federal judge has ordered school officials to let a kindergartner say grace out loud before eating lunch.

Kayla Broadus, 5, was stopped from praying with friends Jan. 15 at her elementary school in suburban Wilton. The Saratoga Springs City School District said the prayer violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge David Hurd issued a temporary restraining order yesterday, saying the school may not prevent the girl from audible prayer at meal time or from inviting her friends to join in, even during school hours.

School officials said in a statement that they would recognize the order, adding that the district never prohibited silent prayer at any time. The issues will be reviewed by school attorneys and the Board of Education.

"The Constitution sometimes puts a school in a difficult position because the school must respect the religious rights of students and parents, while also protecting the rights of others to be free from religious interference during school hours on school premises," the district said.

Hurd has scheduled arguments in a Utica courtroom Feb. 15.

In addition to protecting Kayla's right to pray, the lawsuit on behalf of the girl and her mother, Cheryl Broadus, seeks $50,000 in punitive damages. Attorney Thomas Marcelle argued that her prayer is protected under the First Amendment.

Marcelle told The Daily Gazette in Schenectady that he never asked what faith mother and daughter follow, though they refer to themselves as Christians. He said he would prefer to sit down with the school attorneys and settle the case out of court.

Wilton is 36 miles north of Albany.

Marcelle brought another case involving religion in public schools, which he won last June in U.S. Supreme Court. A group of elementary school students in Milford, near Cooperstown, wanted to have a Bible study group in their school after school hours. The school district wouldn't allow it. The Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Good News Club v. Milford Central School to overturn a lower court ruling and said the Bible study group could meet in the school.