{"id":187,"date":"2011-05-06T11:42:49","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T15:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=187"},"modified":"2011-05-06T11:42:49","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T15:42:49","slug":"another-win-for-students-and-the-rosary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/another-win-for-students-and-the-rosary.html","title":{"rendered":"Another Win for Students and the Rosary"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s happening across the country – from New York to California.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nStudents singled out for wearing a rosary to school.\u00a0 School officials want the rosary removed – kept out of sight – because they claim it’s a gang symbol.\u00a0 The students we represent don’t have anything to do with gangs – they want to wear the rosary as a symbol of their faith.
\n\u00a0
\nNow, some very good news in our latest effort to protect the constitutional rights of public school students. This case is on the West Coast.
\n\u00a0
\nWe represent Maurace Zetino and his family.\u00a0 Maurace is a 10th grade student at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California.\u00a0 Maurace, who was \u201cStudent of the Month\u201d for January 2011, has been wearing a rosary to school on the outside of his clothing for the past few months as an expression of his religious beliefs.\u00a0 He received the rosary during a confirmation retreat with his Catholic parish.
\n\u00a0
\nIn April 2011, school officials told him that he could no longer wear his rosary to school because the school deemed the rosary to be a gang symbol.\u00a0 Maurace is not a gang member and he wears the rosary only for religious reasons.
\n\u00a0
\nWe immediately sent a demand letter to school officials to ensure that Maurace could continue to wear his rosary without interference and that no negative comments would appear in his school record regarding his wearing of the rosary.
\n\u00a0
\nWe put the school on notice.\u00a0 Our demand letter<\/a> was clear:\u00a0 “Maurace has a First Amendment right to wear openly and publicly his rosary” to school.\u00a0 “Maurace wears the rosary, a form of symbolic speech, to convey his faith in God and to identify himself as a Christian and a Catholic.”
\n\u00a0
\nWe urged the school district to take immediate corrective action or face a federal lawsuit.
\n\u00a0
\nI am pleased to report that the school officials complied with our demands.\u00a0 The school’s attorney responded<\/a> saying that Maurace “is not prohibited from wearing his rosary at school” and that “no disciplinary action concerning his wearing the rosary is reflected in his school records.”
\n\u00a0
\nAfter we notified the Zetino family about the victory, Maurace’s mother emailed our Senior Attorney Edward White and said:\u00a0 “We are very proud of our son for taking a stand on this issue.\u00a0 From the very beginning, Maurace knew what had happened to him was wrong.\u00a0 Maurace and I would like to thank you and the ACLJ – we’re so glad that Maurace found you.”
\n\u00a0
\nWe are, too.\u00a0 And we’re delighted with the outcome of this case.
\n\u00a0
\nOur friends at the California-based Advocates for Faith and Freedom joined us in representing Maurace and his family in this matter.
\n\u00a0
\nThis is the fourth time in the last year that the ACLJ has successfully protected the constitutional rights of public school students to wear religious jewelry to school as an expression of their faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, we filed a lawsuit in a New York<\/a> federal court to obtain a court order to ensure that our client could wear his rosary to school.\u00a0 We also achieved positive results through demand letters this past year to ensure that a student in Colorado<\/a>\u00a0could wear his cross to public school and to ensure that a student in Texas could wear her rosary to public school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s happening across the country – from New York to California.\u00a0 \u00a0 Students singled out for wearing a rosary to school.\u00a0 School officials want the rosary removed – kept out of sight – because they claim it’s a gang symbol.\u00a0 The students we represent don’t have anything to do with gangs – they want to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,54,55],"tags":[743,57,58,33,56],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-religious-freedom","category-student-rights","tag-aclj","tag-california","tag-catholic","tag-religious-accommodation","tag-rosary"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother Win for Students and the Rosary - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/another-win-for-students-and-the-rosary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another Win for Students and the Rosary - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s happening across the country – from New York to California.\u00a0 \u00a0 Students singled out for wearing a rosary to school.\u00a0 School officials want the rosary removed – kept out of sight – because they claim it’s a gang symbol.\u00a0 The students we represent don’t have anything to do with gangs – they want to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/another-win-for-students-and-the-rosary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-06T15:42:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jay Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Another Win for Students and the Rosary - Faith & Justice","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/another-win-for-students-and-the-rosary.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Another Win for Students and the Rosary - 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ACLJ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4","name":"Jay Sekulow","description":"Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on constitutional law. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":193,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}