August 10, 2022

Praying on the 50-Yard Line: What Does the Supreme Court Decision Mean?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District shifted the landscape concerning prayer in our public schools.

The case involved petitioner Joseph Kennedy, who lost his job as a high school football coach in the Bremerton School District in Bremerton, Washington, after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer. He sued in federal court, alleging that the district’s actions violated the First Amendment’s free speech and free exercise clauses.

The case was the subject of a lively discussion on August 11, when Ray Pinney, director of county activities and member engagement at New Jersey School Boards Association, interviewed Marc Zitomer, a partner with Schenk, Price, Smith & King LLC, about what the Supreme Court’s decision means for school districts during a Blog Talk Radio program.