A New York Court said absolutely.
A student sued her School District after she was told to delete certain language from her “moving up” speech from middle school to high school. The language at issue was– “As we say our goodbyes and leave middle school behind, I say to you, may the LORD bless you and keep you; make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
The plaintiff claimed the School District violated her right to free speech under the First Amendment. The District argued that the language “sounded too religious” and “might offend people.”
The Court held that the School District could censor the student’s speech at this school event. The student’s First Amendment rights were not violated.
Did you know?
The oldest school in the United States is Boston Latin School. It was founded April 23, 1635, a year before Harvard. Five of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence attended Boston Latin– John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Treat Paine & William Hooper. See http://www.bls.org/history.
