ACLU warns Dallas ISD to "tread cautiously" on loosening restrictions to allow graduations in religious facilities
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is demanding that Dallas ISD reconsider a proposal that would no longer restrict graduations at churches and other religious buildings. Dallas school trustees are likely to discuss the proposal at Thursday's board briefing. It is scheduled for a vote on Jan. 26. The proposed change would eliminate a clause that restricts commencement exercises from being held at churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious buildings and sites without permission of the superintendent -- and only under extenuating circumstances when no other non-religious facility is available. But the ACLU of Texas said it is difficult to understand why DISD is "taking the unusual step of retracting" the current policy, which the group calls a "neutral policy." "DISD should tread cautiously in this area," Lisa Graybill, ACLU of Texas' legal director, warned