Today is “See You At The Pole 2011,” an annual prayer observance at public schools. Students gather around the flagpoles at their schools before classes to engage in Christian devotions . . .

AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan and AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser asserted that SYATP observances are constitutional only if they are student-initiated and -sponsored and take place outside school hours. Teachers and other school officials should not participate, and students should not be urged to attend . . . 

While the specific flagpole prayers at public schools are generally student-led, the larger effort is carefully coordinated by fundamentalist Christian evangelists out to proselytize America’s youth. Read more . . .