Some students in Laurens County School District 55 say they will still pray at graduation, despite the districts decision to keep school-endorsed prayer out of the commencement ceremony.
This year a student said a school-endorsed prayer is not legal and contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation about it.
“It [graduation prayer] gives the feeling to us that aren't of that certain religion, that we're excluded, like we're not as important as the other,” says Harrison Hopkins, the student who spearheaded the campaign.
In response, Laurens 55 officials said the school would not lead a prayer. In the past, school officials say they left it up to students to include a prayer in the commencement.
In a statement, Laurens School District 55 Superintendent Billy Strickland explained why they decided to keep prayer out of graduation:
“Our legal counsel has advised us that we should discontinue the practice of voting on whether to have an invocation delivered at the graduation ceremony so we do not create a basis for a legal challenge.”
That being said, prayer is still a possibility by a speaker. Strickland’s statement goes on to say: “The views expressed during student-led messages are solely those of the speaker and do not reflect the approval or disapproval of Laurens School District 55 or the school administration."
Some students told us they knew the student body president would be praying in his speech.
Some students plan to hold their own prayer around the fence of Laurens High. Others will wear a white ribbon saying their praying silently.
Students at Laurens High say the issue has been distracting.
The Laurens High Principal says he just wants to make sure nothing takes away from the students on their graduation day. He wants it to be their day.
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