A federal appeals court has ruled that the Indian River School District board's practice of opening meetings with a prayer is unconstitutional.
In a 72-page ruling issued Friday, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that the board's prayers, which often are explicitly Christian, are constitutional because the school board is more like a legislative body than a school.
The appeals court said the legislative exception did not apply to the school board, and that the prayers go beyond the interaction between church and state permitted by the U.S. Constitution.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2005 by a Jewish family that objected to the board's practice.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
