A plan for the Wind Ensemble of Henry M. Jackson High School in Everett, Washington, to play a version of Ave Maria during graduation ceremonies was nixed three years ago by school officials who felt inclusion of religious programming at the official event was an improper promotion of religion. Today, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court judge in ruling the school was within its rights to bar the piece, partly because of the nature of the ceremony in question. From the opinion.
[W]e confine our analysis to the narrow conclusion that when there is a captive audience at a graduation ceremony, which spans a finite amount of time, and during which the demand for equal time is so great that comparable non-religious musical works might not be presented, it is reasonable for a school official to prohibit the performance of an obviously religious piece.
That the Superintendent, Carol Whitehead, was allowed to make this decision, they add, does not mean she was required to do so by the Constitution.
we also wish to make clear that we do not hold that the performance of music, even “Ave Maria,” would necessarily violate the Establishment Clause. We hold only that Whitehead’s actions were reasonable in light of her past experience and her understanding of the law and did not violate [the plaintiff’s] constitutional rights.
An AP report, via How Appealing, is here.
