The new law . . . is a response to a school-endorsed "consent degree" in the Santa Rosa County School District that demanded a student change "God bless" to "good luck."
-- From "Crist signs bill protecting First Amendment rights" by Associated Press 6/4/10
Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a school prayer bill that prevents schools from infringing on the First Amendment freedoms of teachers, staff or students unless they sign a waiver.
The legislation (HB 31) originally would have allowed prayers at noncompulsory school activities including assemblies and sports events at the request of a majority of students.
The bill, which was watered down in its final form, was filed as a result of the American Civil Liberties Union obtaining a federal court-approved agreement from the Santa Rosa County School Board to stop public prayers at school events.
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From "'God bless' to be banned in schools?" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/7/10
The state's new HB 31 reads, "District school boards, administrative personnel, and instructional personnel are prohibited from taking affirmative action, including, but not limited to, the entry into any agreement, that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the absence of the express written consent of any individual whose constitutional rights would be impacted by such infringement or waiver."
Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said, "Liberty Counsel will ask the Santa Rosa School District to request the court to reconsider the consent decree in light of this new law. Liberty Counsel will continue to press this case until the consent decree is set aside. Not only is the decree unconstitutional, it is also moot, since the ACLU student plaintiffs graduated three weeks before the order became final.
"This consent decree," he said, "drafted by the ACLU and agreed to by the superintendent, is the most unconstitutional order I have ever read. It was written as though the First Amendment does not exist. It is only a matter of time before this consent decree is overturned."
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UPDATE 3/21/11: Federal judge grants preliminary injunction against school and orders trial
