Original Article By Michael Gryboski
A high school in Florida has shut down a weekly morning announcements segment that critics said promoted witchcraft following a complaint letter from a legal nonprofit.
The Liberty Counsel previously sent a complaint letter to Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) over a local high school’s practice of allowing a “Witchy Wednesday” segment as part of their morning announcements.
In a response sent to the legal nonprofit on Tuesday, OCPS said the school district has “instructed the school to cease ‘Witchy Wednesday’ segments from the morning announcements.”
“No further segments of this nature will take place,” wrote the school district, adding that “we cannot constitutionally allow such a segment to continue to take place in the future.”
“In addition, there is no legal requirement for us to allow the segment to continue into the future. The courts have made it clear that there is no requirement to keep a forum open.”
The OCPS letter also expressed “disappointment with how this matter has been handled,” lamenting how the complaint received considerable media attention before the school district could give a proper response.
“The manner in which this matter was handled was surprising, given that both our organizations share the same goal to ensure that all students have their First Amendment free exercise rights respected,” concluded the letter.
Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver celebrated the school district’s decision to remove the “Witchy Wednesday” segments in a statement released Wednesday.
“We commend Orange County Public Schools for taking action to discontinue the ‘Witchy Wednesday’ video segments,” stated Staver. “Witchcraft and teaching students how to cast occultic spells have no place in government schools.”
Last week, Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the school district in response to reports they received about a regular video segment being held at a high school that promoted witchcraft practices.
For example, content included celebrating a new moon by engaging in assorted “releasing rituals” as “good ways to cleanse and recharge,” as well as casting “a spell for enlightenment.”
In its letter, Liberty Counsel demanded that the high school allow students religiously opposed to witchcraft to opt out of watching the segment and for Christian students to be allowed to have a similar school platform.
The legal group cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision Mahmoud, et al. v. Taylor, et al., in which the high court ruled 6-3 that parents can opt their children out of a Maryland school district’s LGBT-themed curriculum materials over religious objections.
Be the first to comment