UPDATE - Student Can Mention "Jesus" in Graduation Speech

We are glad to report that the high school Salutatorian who contacted us will be able to give his speech at graduation, including his discussion of Jesus, without any changes.

As we reported earlier, a Salutatorian of a high school senior class contacted us after the Principal and Associate Principal said that he would not be able to give his graduation speech because it mentioned Jesus. The Associate Principal said that the student should mention "God," rather than "Jesus," because some in attendance at graduation could be offended.

We sent the student a letter explaining that valedictorians and salutatorians have a First Amendment right to include references to the role that God and religious faith have played in their lives. The Superintendent discussed our letter with the Principal and determined that the student should be able to give his speech without censorship because the speech represents the viewpoint of the student rather than the school. The student was very pleased with this result.