In America Today: No School Prayer for You!

At Carillon Elementary School in Seminole County Florida, teachers on cafeteria duty weren't monitoring lunch; they were out to lunch on students' rights. When the daughter of Marcos Perez bowed her head to pray, a teacher interrupted her and said, "You're not allowed to do that." The five-year-old looked surprised and responded, "But it's good to pray." No, said the teacher, "It's not good." Fox News's Todd Starnes reports that the little girl tried to pray again but was stopped.

When she got home and explained what happened, Marcos and his wife were furious. "My five-year old should not feel conflicted about prayer with respect to trying to follow rules or authority. We remain speechless that our daughter had to experience [that] from an individual with an agenda." They contacted the school, demanding to know why his five-year-old would be accosted for exercising her religious rights. The principal promised to investigate, but when she asked around, no teacher remembered the incident. Either way, she assured the Perezes that she took the matter seriously. "Please know that students are permitted to pray during school. I will remind all staff members of this." A spokesman at Florida's Seminole County Public Schools echoed the policy, which allows prayer as long as it isn't disruptive.

For the Perezes, who were already frustrated over the liberal indoctrination taking place in classrooms around the country, this was the last straw. They pulled their daughter out of public education and have decided to homeschool her. "This definitely pushed us over," Marcos said. "We've long had concerns about Common Core and issues and agendas we see in the culture war."

Unfortunately, liberals have worked long and hard to convince teachers that students have the right to exercise their religion -- just not on school property. But that's not true. In fact, the Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court both say that educators should protect the rights of religious students, so long as they aren't coercive or disruptive. And that includes praying over lunch. For the longest time, the Left pushed for religious neutrality in schools. But over time, that neutrality has turned into outright hostility -- and children are the victims. Of all the ways kids can misbehave these days, scolding them for praying is about as ridiculous as it gets. Judging by the state of our culture (and our schools), they could use more time with God -- not less!