By Associated Press - Saturday, January 25, 2014

NORRIS CITY, Ill. (AP) - A southern Illinois school district is weighing its options after an activist group has threatened to sue if prayers offered at graduation ceremonies aren’t halted.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan (https://bit.ly/M3Gy39) reports that the American Humanist Association’s legal arm has sent letters warning of the potential lawsuit to Norris City-Omaha-Enfield High School administrators.

The group insists that by including prayers during the high school’s graduation ceremony, the district unconstitutionally coerces students to participate in a religious activity.



The high school’s principal, Matt Vollmann, says the student-led prayer long has been part of the ceremony, and that he’s never fielded any local complaint.

Vollmann says the district is probing the validity of the aggrieved group’s claims.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, https://www.southernillinoisan.com

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