Indiana —

FFRF’s work to keep public schools secular prevailed when the Franklin Community Schools Board of School Trustees stopped opening board meetings with explicitly religious prayers.

A community parent reported that the board was regularly opening meetings with prayer led by members of the board of trustees. FFRF learned of a prayer on March 10, where a board member prayed that the board’s decisions “reflect [God’s] will,” concluding “in Jesus’ name we pray.” Immediately following that prayer, the board recognized a number of students who were in attendance at the meeting to be celebrated by their school board. FFRF understood that recognitions immediately followed the prayer at every board meeting.

“Franklin students are asked to attend board meetings for a variety of reasons, including to receive recognition and awards from the board,” FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote. “It is coercive, embarrassing and intimidating for nonreligious or minority faith citizens to be required to make a public showing of their nonbelief or differing beliefs (by not bowing their heads or praying) or else to display deference toward a religious sentiment in which they do not believe, but which their school board members clearly do.”

While FFRF never received an official written response to the complaints, FFRF kept in close contact with the complainants who originally brought the issue to light. Thankfully, the complainants who attended the August and October board meetings reported that the board no longer opened the meetings with prayer, and instead began with a moment of silence in August, and the Pledge of Allegiance in October.

The post Board of School Trustees stopped opening board meetings with explicitly religious prayers (December 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.