SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says a federal judge’s ban on public prayer at a high school graduation ceremony this weekend will be appealed.
At a news conference in San Antonio, Abbott said the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be asked to overturn Judge Fred Biery’s ruling.
Biery’s decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by the agnostic parents of a senior at Medina Valley High School in Castroville. He said speakers at Saturday’s graduation ceremony can express their personal beliefs, but must not call on audience members to bow their heads, join in prayer or say “amen.”
Abbott calls that an unconstitutional violation of students’ free speech rights, and says his office will file a brief supporting the school district’s appeal.
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