Prayer sessions are now formally allowed at Georgetown High School.
Georgetown County School District officials have cleared the way for students to pray on Tuesday, a week after stopping a practice that had continued for years.
The school officials called an end to the gatherings after the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State complained that a woman was handing out religious literature to students on the high school's campus, and inviting the students to pray between 7 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. before school started.
The district received the complaint on Feb. 1 and stopped the prayer sessions on Feb. 2, said public information officer Ray White.
The district had not been aware of the situation, and it halted the prayer time because proper protocol had not been followed in setting up the group, officials said.
In a statement released Tuesday, district Superintendent Randy Dozier said the students will be allowed to form an official prayer club.
"We certainly respect students' rights to pray and assemble," Dozier said in a statement. "I think there were some legitimate concerns expressed with the distribution of literature by an individual. I believe that clearly we have processes and procedures in place to address these concerns, and to be in compliance with constitutional law and federal mandates."
Georgetown resident Violet Infinger, who had been praying with students in Georgetown High School's auditorium since 1999, and who had been passing out Bible Scriptures on school grounds, said Tuesday that she was really excited that the prayer session will be allowed.
"That's wonderful. Thank the Lord," Infinger said. "I think the students will be a little more aware of the prayer time now that it is school-sponsored."
Guidelines the district established include:
That the club be open to all GHS students who wish to participate.
The club must have a faculty sponsor and submit a statement to the Georgetown High School administration noting the club's goals, purpose and activities, a requirement under district policy.
All club activities will be student-initiated and student-led.
Ministers and church lay people may be invited by students to attend as long as those volunteers meet the requirements set forth by the Georgetown County School District, which includes a criminal background check.
The club will be allowed to meet on school grounds from 7:25 a.m. to 7:38 a.m. but will not be allowed to distribute unapproved materials.
"We plan to put this in place immediately so that students can continue to meet as they have in the past within the proper guidelines," Dozier said in the statement.
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