Ga. Elementary School Ends Graduation Prayer After Atheist Complaint

A school district in Tiger, Georgia has agreed to halt Christian prayers at elementary school graduations and remove a religious sign from the front of its school following a complaint by an atheist group.

The Rabun County School District has agreed to follow the demands of the American Humanist Association and halt Christian prayers at the graduation ceremonies at Rabun County Elementary School.

The district has also agreed to remove a sign with the word "Jesus" from the front of the school.

The American Humanist Association wrote in a recent letter to the school arguing that the religious references at the public school were unconstitutional.

Monica Miller, senior counsel for the AHA's Appignani Humanist Legal Center, said in a statement following the school's decision that "Moving forward, the school district must take steps to ensure that students are not subjected to religious coercion through school-endorsed prayers so that all students feel welcome in the district."

According to local media outlet Fox 5 Atlanta, some parents at the elementary school were supportive of the school's principal Lisa Patterson for leading Christian prayers at two graduation events.

"She is a Christian lady and you can tell it by her movements, by everything, and I just think she is awesome," a parent who attended a graduation ceremony earlier this year told the local media outlet.

The AHA has said that if the elementary school had not corrected its religious references, it would have pursued legal avenues to address the situation.