Valedictorian Elizabeth Turner of Hillsdale High School went by the book in getting her speech approved, only for it to be refused by her school district because expressing her personal
A student in Michigan, who was selected to deliver a speech during her school's senior honors night, will now be allowed to include comments about her Christian faith during the oration.
Noozhawk.com delivers local breaking news, local sports, schools, nonprofits, obituaries, business, arts and entertainment, calendar, local opinions and more.
Is a student s speech at a high school graduation private or is it considered public and represents the school? According to a group called First Liberty although the speech is given at a public high school graduation ceremony the speech is considered private and legally protected speech
According to First Liberty’s website, they are “the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious liberty for all Americans”
Fox News reported that the principal of Michigan’s Hillsdale High School, Amy Goldsmith, had a problem with the content of the Valedictorian’s Elizabeth Turner’s upcoming valedictory speech for graduation which mentioned Jesus Christ.
Religion is an important part of Elizabeth Turner s life and she feels that it s important to give some credit to Jesus Christ as she addresses other graduating seniors. But the Hillsdale High School senior has been told that she needs to keep quiet about her religious beliefs during her valedictorian speech.
Get our free mobile app
With representation from an organization known as First Liberty, Turner has filed a complaint against the school, claiming that they re violating federal law which allows private religious speech at school events. First Liberty contends that Turner s address constitutes private and legally protected speech even though it would be delivered in a public forum.