Ohio —

FFRF made sure that the Anthony Wayne Board of Education in Ohio would not be using state time and resources to promote Christianity at board meetings and in emails.

Concerned community members reported that at the Sept. 15 board meeting, a board member prayed during his comments while other board members bowed their heads in response. Two board members, including the member who offered prayer at the Sept. 15 meeting, included religious references in their signature, such as referencing Jesus, Jesus’ death and a bible quote from Psalms 19:14.

FFRF worked with the district to ensure that school board members would no longer unconstitutionally promote their religious views through public communications.

“Here, the inclusion of Christian prayer led by a board member is . . . unconstitutional,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Charlotte Gude wrote to the district. “This is also true of the inclusion of religious references in the board [members’ signatures].”

The district worked to bring the board back in line with the First Amendment. FFRF learned from the original complainant that the board member who delivered the prayer at the meeting stated at the Oct. 13 board meeting that he intended to no longer pray at meetings. In further correspondence between FFRF and the district, Board President Kyle Miller confirmed that the violations occurring in board members’ email signatures were also being addressed. “With thoughtful discussion and guidance, the board has decided to move forward with the removal of all personal email signatures from official board communications,” he wrote.

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