Medina Valley ISD settles prayer suit

Christa (from left) and Danny Shultz with son Corwyn. The family filed the lawsuit against the school district in May. Christa (from left) and Danny Shultz with son Corwyn. The family filed the lawsuit against the school district in May. Photo: BOB OWEN, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: BOB OWEN, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Medina Valley ISD settles prayer suit 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Settling a controversial prayer lawsuit, the Medina Valley Independent School District has agreed that its teachers, administrators and other employees will not pray with students, elicit prayer, proselytize or display religious artifacts.

Praising lawyers on both sides but firing back at opponents of his previous rulings who had threatened him or made political hay of the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery signed off on the deal Thursday, a month before it was set to go to trial.

The court will enforce the settlement for 10 years.

Each side claimed a win in the months-long fight, which had reverberated nationally.

The lawsuit alleged school officials frequently mixed religion with school events. It was filed last May by the family of an agnostic student, Corwyn Schultz, who declined to attend his Medina Valley High School graduation a month later when a federal appeals panel said students participating in the ceremony could call on the

audience to pray.

The valedictorian, Angela Hildenbrand, led a large crowd in prayer at the Castroville campus, including some who had driven there from outside the community to show their opposition to the suit. That will still be allowed under the settlement, and the district called the agreement “a huge victory” for its 3,500 students.

School district employees who are sitting in the audience as private citizens can participate in student-led prayer, but not if they're on the clock — and the settlement says commencement programs will need a disclaimer saying the student speaker's message is his or her own and not endorsed by the district.

The settlement “brings an end to several practices we believed were unconstitutional and that violated students' rights,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Washington-based group that provided the Schultz family with lawyers.

More Information Read the settlement agreement Read the settement agreement appendix Read Medina Valley ISD's response to the settlement Read Judge Fred Biery's analysis Settlement details • School district personnel will not display crosses, Bibles or other Scripture, or religious images, quotations, icons or artifacts on school walls or hallways. • The district won’t invite speakers, including government officials or community leaders, who it has reason to believe will proselytize. • The settlement also says graduation programs will have a disclaimer saying the student speaker’s message is his or her own and not endorsed or sponsored by the district. • The Medina Valley High School student handbook will describe religious freedom rights and the importance of respect for students of all backgrounds — and how to file a complaint about violations. • The district will provide annual training on those rights and on church-state separation to all employees who interact with students or parents or who supervise those who do.

The group's lead lawyer on the case, Gregory M. Lipper, praised the Schultzes for “standing up for religious liberty and church-state separation in the face of intense community opposition.”

School officials have denied they encouraged prayer in school and said the agreement reinforced their continued effort to strike a balance between free expression and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

“No doubt, this is a great day for Medina Valley,” said Roland Ruiz, the district's board president. “Our students stood up for what they believed in and, as a result of this settlement, they will be able to continue to do so, now and in the future.”

Biery initially barred organized prayer during the June 4 commencement but said speakers could — individually — invoke their religious beliefs.

But a federal appeals panel disagreed and allowed student-led prayer pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

The case drew a national spotlight in which praise, criticism and even death threats were directed at Biery.

In Texas, many Republican statewide officeholders criticized Biery, including Gov. Rick Perry.

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich worked the dispute into his stump speech, citing it as an example of a “war on religion” by federal judges. He proposed eliminating Biery's judicial post.

The case never was about the right to pray, Biery wrote in his order approving the settlement.

“Any American can pray, silently or verbally, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, in private as Jesus taught or in large public events as Mohammed instructed,” Biery wrote.

The real issue, the order stated, is whether the Constitution allows a government entity to support and promote a particular religious viewpoint.

The judge included an 18-page discourse of what the courts have said in previous fights between First Amendment rights of students and freedom from a government endorsement of a specific religion.

In his order, the judge also delivered particular messages:

“To those Christians who have venomously and vomitously cursed the court family and threatened bodily harm and assassination: In His name, I forgive you.”

“To those who have prayed for my death: Your prayers will someday be answered, as inevitability trumps probability.”

“To those in the executive and legislative branches of government who have demagogued this case for their own political goals: You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

“To the lawyers who have advocated professionally and respectfully for their clients' respective positions: Bless you.”

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland