Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0520/p11s01-lepr.html

On May 20, 2003 The Christian Science Monitor reported that "if schools allow any religious speech at the graduation ceremony, most are aware that they could face a lawsuit. But now, if they don't - according to the dictates of NCLB - they could risk losing federal funds... The decades-old struggle over the place of religion in American public schools may be about to flare up yet again. A provision in NCLB mandates that if a school has any policy in place that curtails a student's right to 'religious expression' as spelled out in recent government guidelines, it could lose its federal funding... For groups that advocate greater freedom of religion in public schools, the guidelines mailed out to all districts Feb. 7 from the US Department of Education are cause for rejoicing... But for groups that promote the separation of church and state, the guidelines spell danger."