Florida Education Department ‘Deeply Troubled’ by Prayer Ban

The Florida Education Department has publicly shared its concern after the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) denied two Christian high schools the opportunity to pray on the loudspeaker before a football game at the Citrus Bowl Stadium, according to the Christian Post.

“Policies that are overbroad or restrictive may deny students their constitutional right to private religious expression,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran in a letter sent to the FHSAA. “Such policies must be immediately repealed and replaced with policies that are consistent with the religious freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.”

He continued, stating that the decision concerning Cambridge Christian School of Tampa and University Christian School of Jacksonville’s requests was “deeply troubling” and that “the state must not censor private religious speech of its students.”

However, this is not the first time that the FHSAA has barred Christian schools from praying over a loudspeaker. In 2015, two other Christian schools—Cambridge Christian and University Christian—were similarly rejected.

“In Florida Statutes, the FHSAA (host and coordinator of the event) is legally a ‘State Actor,’ we cannot legally permit or grant permission for such an activity,” said Roger Dearing, the head of the FHSAA in 2015. Because the Citrus Bowl was “predominantly paid for with…