Texas school district shelves prayer event after out-of-state secular group protests

A Texas school district cut short a three-week prayer campaign after an secular group in Wisconsin sent a complaint letter.

The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District announced on Facebook a “pray to the first day” effort beginning July 26 and ending on the first day of classes, Aug. 16. A Facebook post listed the district’s three elementary schools, its middle school and two high school campuses as prayer recipients, along with various district administration members and school employees.

The item caught the eye of officials with the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wisconsin, prompting Samantha F. Lawrence, the group’s Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow, to write a letter to Burnet CISD Supt. Keith McBurnett, demanding the district “cease promoting prayer and remove this post from its official social media.”

In a letter, Ms. Lawrence said the district “is displaying clear favoritism towards religion over nonreligion by promoting and encouraging prayer.” 

She said the 3,200-student district, “serves a diverse community that consists of not only religious students, families, and employees, but also atheists, agnostics, and those who are simply religiously unaffiliated.” The FRFF letter cited surveys of the U.S. population that reported percentages of nonreligious and religiously unaffiliated to back up that claim.

A news release from the atheist and freethinker group said Mr. McBurnett responded via email, “The Facebook post has been removed, and the district will refrain from posting anything similar in the future.”

Reached by telephone Monday, an assistant to Mr. McBurnett told The Washington Times the administrator was not immediately available for comment due to a district “convocation” planned for Tuesday.

FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement, “A school district does not need to pray for their students and staff. It needs to focus instead on providing a secular education free from religious indoctrination.”

The issue of prayer in and around schools has been contentious in recent years. 

In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a high school football coach in Bremerton, Washington, who was fired for praying on the 50-yard line after games.