By the Associated Press
OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school will no longer allow student-led public prayer before its football games.
News outlets report Opelika City Schools Superintendent Mark Neighbors announced Monday that the district’s high school will hold a moment of silence instead. WTVM-TV reports a social media movement is encouraging fans to recite the Lord’s Prayer during this Friday’s moment of silence.
Christopher Line from the Freedom From Religion Foundation says a parent complained about a pregame prayer delivered over a loudspeaker before a game on Aug. 22.
Line says the foundation receives complaints from across the country each year. The foundation then sends letters to the schools explaining the complaint and informing districts that federal law prohibits school-sponsored prayer in public schools.
Neighbors says students are allowed to pray but coaches can’t participate.
