WASHINGTON — A federal judge
ruled Monday (May 31) that a Connecticut school board’s decision to hold
graduation ceremonies inside a megachurch was unconstitutional.
Commencements for two
schools in Enfield, Conn. — Enfield High School and Enrico Enfermi High School,
were to be held at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield in late June.
The American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) joined Americans United for Separation of Church and State to
represent two Enfield High School students and their parents who opposed the
use of the religious venue. The school board said their decision was a matter
of space and price.
“We are pleased that the
court has found that holding a public high school graduation ceremony in an
overtly religious setting is inappropriate when comparable secular facilities
are available,” said Andrew Schneider, the executive director of the ACLU of
Connecticut.
Enfield Public Schools
previously joined four local schools that agreed not to use the church for
graduation. However, they repealed their decision in April after “heavy
lobbying from a religious
organization,” according to
an ACLU press release.
On Monday, U.S. District
Court Judge Janet Hall said the venue would force the school district to “unconstitutionally
entangle itself with religion,” especially when school officials promised to
cover up religious symbols at the church.
One student who filed the official complaint
said the religious environment was uncomfortable and offensive.
“By requiring a graduating
senior — or a parent of one — to enter First Cathedral in order to be able to
participate in his or her graduation — or to watch their child graduate —
Enfield Public Schools has coerced plaintiffs to support religion,” Hall said.
The decision followed three
years of complaints by students at Enfield High School; last year, 90 percent
of the graduating class had voted against graduation at the cathedral,
according to a letter to the school board from Americans United and the ACLU.
The letter also included a
list of nearby facilities that could accommodate the graduating class within
the school’s budget for the summer commencement ceremonies.