The case began in 1995 when two families, Catholic and Mormon, challenged the local school district policy of permitting prayer at graduation ceremonies and athletic events . Justices ruled that the practices violated the separation of church and state, and coerced students into participation in sectarian religious rituals. This is almost the mirror opposite.
Students vote on whether to have a message at games.
Sekulow is expected to be among the attorneys arguing Wednesday's brief in front of the high court. ACLJ, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson, is representing the school district. The school district has also maintained that while its policy of permitting prayer at athletic events such as the popular weekend football games does not exclude certain types of sectarian prayer, it also does not specifically promote it. The original case has wound its way through a judicial labyrinth for the past five years. On appeal from the Santa Fe Independent School District, the case then landed in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.