Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Two national church-state advocacy groups are warning the Duval County School Board to end its practice of opening board meetings with prayer. The groups received separate citizen complaints, which prompted them to send letters to board members.
Both groups — the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which sent the board its letter on Friday, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which sent a similar letter in November — say that to start school-sponsored events like board meetings with prayer is a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. That’s the doctrine preventing the government from “establishing” a religion and is the basis for separation of church and state.
Since December 2024, when Charlotte Joyce became board chair, the school board has begun most meetings with overtly evangelical Christian prayers. Previous Chair Darryl Willie opened each meeting with a “thought of the day,” usually from a student…