A high school valedictorian in California will not be allowed to
deliver his prepared address because it contains references to
God. Jason Niemeyer was allowed to join 190 classmates on the
football field at Oroville High School June 10, but the school
barred him from speaking, the Scripps McClatchy news service
said. The speech wasn’t "at all up-front and in-your-face
religious," he said. One version refers to "a friend who has
personally helped me to achieve my goals, and I give Him the
praise and glory for that." Niemeyer achieved a grade-point
average above 4.0.
...School officials barred Niemeyer’s older brother Chris from
delivering a valedictory address last year on the grounds that it
was sectarian, with lines such as, "We must yield our lives to
God." The Niemeyers, who attend a Nazarene church, have sued,
claiming the school violated Chris’ First Amendment rights. Jason
has been added as a plaintiff. A third son, John, graduated from
eighth grade this week and will attend Oroville High in the fall.
He also has a straight-A average. "As a mother this has been
crushing my heart, to think about going through it again," Janet
Niemeyer, the boys’ mother, said.

Reprinted with permission from Religion Today, http://www.ReligionToday.com."

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