GEORGETOWN—School district officials in Georgetown County announced today the formation of student prayer club after several requests to do so were made by students at Georgetown High School.
Earlier this week the national organization Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, AU, voiced concerns to district officials after receiving a report of a morning prayer group being held at Georgetown High School led by a local resident.
According to an AU spokesperson, a prayer group that meets on school grounds must be student initiated and led.
In a statement released Feb. 9, Georgetown County Superintendent Randy Dozier said the club was student initiated and would be student lead, permitted to meet on school grounds between 7:25 - 7:38 each morning.
“All club activities will be student initiated and student lead,” the statement said. “Ministers and church lay people may be invited by students to attend club activities as long as those volunteers meet the requirements set forth by the Georgetown County School District regarding school volunteers.”
Dozier’s statement also said the club would be open to “all GHS students who wish to participate.”
Rob Boston, a media relation’s official with AU, said the action taken by the district was within legal guidelines.
“The important thing is that this is a student run club and operates in a way that respects everyone’s rights,” the spokesperson said.
Boston said the matter was first reported to the organization by a local resident saying someone from outside the school was leading a prayer group at GHS and distributing religious literature on school grounds. He said the organization’s attorney contacted the school and alerted them to the situation.
“The District does not permit the distribution of any unapproved materials on any school campus,” Dozier’s statement said. “The prayer club will be subject to these same restrictions on the distribution of religious literature.”
Boston said that under the Equal Access Act, a federal law passed in 1984, extracurricular clubs must be initiated and led by students. The law was ruled constitutional in 1990 under the Supreme Court case Westside School District v. Mergens. That case forced Westside High School in Omaha, NE to allow students to form a Christian Bible study club at their school after the school initially denied students to do so.
“I hope this eliminates any confusion regarding this issue at Georgetown High School,” Dozier concluded in his statement. “We plan to put this in place immediately so that students can continue to meet as they have in the past within the proper guidelines.”
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