Santa Clarita Valley Seniors Attend Religious Baccalaureate Ceremony

Circumventing a court ruling that prohibits public schools from sponsoring pre-graduation ceremonies with religious themes, nearly 100 Santa Clarita Valley high school seniors attended a baccalaureate ceremony Sunday at a local Baptist church.

Santa Clarita’s three high schools canceled their own non-religious baccalaureate ceremonies this year because “there was no need to have baccalaureate on and off campus,” said Clyde Smyth, superintendent of Hart Union High School District.

The service was initiated and planned by Devin Franchino, Saugus High School student body president, who said he wanted fellow graduating seniors to have religious inspiration.

Injunction Upheld

In July, 1987, the state Court of Appeal unanimously upheld an injunction issued by an Alameda Superior Court judge in 1983 barring an invocation referring to “Almighty God” from ceremonies at a Livermore High School. The justices ruled that such an invocation would be an improper state endorsement of religion and might offend some members of the audience.

The state Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling in October, 1987, when it refused to hear an appeal of the case.

At Sunday afternoon’s ceremony, featured speaker David White, a Hart High School alumnus and director of the UC Santa Barbara chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ, exhorted graduating seniors to “choose God.”

“Make the call--choose God. You can either be out on your own or safe with God. These are your simple options. There is no middle ground,” White said.

The hourlong ceremony also included a Scripture reading and two songs.

No Prayers

Last year, to comply with the court ruling, the three high schools in the district held baccalaureate ceremonies without prayers or religious figures as speakers. Community leaders, instead, gave talks on non-religious values and ethics, Smyth said.

But Franchino said: “I come from a Christian home, so we felt it wasn’t enough.

“I don’t understand why they can say ‘under God’ in our flag salute and ‘In God We Trust’ on our money and then not let us mention God at a once in a lifetime event like this,” he added. Franchino said he approached school administrators and asked permission to organize a baccalaureate ceremony off campus. When they approved, he sought assistance from the youth minister of his church and the leader of a local Christian youth group, Campus After Dark.

Off-Campus Sponsor

Smyth said the school district already had considered the possibility of finding an off-campus group to sponsor religious ceremonies for graduating seniors.

“We wanted to do it legally and had been advised that if a non-district sponsoring group held it and it was not a school function, it would be fine,” he said.

Franchino said no school funds were used to organize the service, held at Grace Baptist Church in Newhall. A printer donated the more than 1,600 invitations mailed to graduating seniors from all Hart, Saugus and Canyon high schools. The service was deliberately nondenominational so that students from any religious background would feel comfortable participating, Franchino said.

Canyon High School Principal Bill White, who attended the ceremony, said he was proud of the students who organized the event.

“It’s wonderful. It demonstrates the return of spiritual values to the students,” he said.