Wisconsin —

FFRF reminded the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District that religious events taking place at school districts must be student-led and free from staff participation to ensure students are safe from coercive religious practices by employees.

A district parent reported that East Middle School’s Sept. 17 announcements included an advertisement for a See You at the Pole event on Sept. 24, stating: “[An adult] will lead prayer at the flagpole from 8-8:20 a.m. All students and staff are welcome to join. … We hope to see you there!”

“A public school district promoting and leading a religious event on school property alienates nonreligious students, teachers, and parents, such as the family who contacted us, whose religious beliefs are inconsistent with the message being promoted by the school staff,” FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote.

After getting FFRF’s letter, District Superintendent Daniel Thielen reached out to FFRF via email to clarify the situation at hand. “As we have students who participate in this yearly, reminders have gone out to all district staff that they are not to be involved and this is a strictly student-led event,” he wrote. “A separate reminder from the principal at Oak Crest East Middle School especially emphasized this as well.”

The post Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District was reminded that religious events at school must be student-led and free from staff participation (November 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.