Listen: Jennifer Shaw, president of the Shaw Law Group specializing in employment law.
The Supreme Court released a decision this morning saying separation of church and state does not prohibit public school employees from praying aloud on the job near students. The case involved a high school football coach praying post-game at the 50-yard line, joined by his players. The court held that the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in a personal religious observance from government reprisal; the Constitution neither mandates nor permits the government to suppress such religious expression. The ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District is a win for former high school football coach Joe Kennedy, who was suspended from his job in 2015 over post-game prayers on the 50-yard line that sometimes involved his players.
Jennifer Shaw, President, Shaw Law Group