Other districts with a history of prayer before games, such as Celina in the Dallas area, agreed to abide by the ruling. But other religious activities developed in accord with previous high court rulings should be unaffected, said David Overstreet, assistant director of field ministries for the National Network of Youth Ministries. His group promotes See You at the Pole, an annual morning prayer held at many public schools. Since the prayer happens before school starts and each observance is student-led, Monday's ruling will have no effect, he said. Mark Briskman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, applauded the ruling but said some religious groups are confused about the impact.
Any student has the absolute right to pray privately.
The problem arises when it becomes organized and school-sanctioned. The 1,100-student Celina school district in northern Collin County had continued a long tradition of public prayer at football games through last fall. That won't be repeated this year, said Superintendent Ken Burks. Most other local school districts already had discontinued student-led prayers at football games. But some said Monday's ruling answered lingering questions about this issue.