Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s chief justice refused Wednesday to stop Virginia from requiring students to start their day with a minute of silence.
The court may still consider a constitutional challenge of the practice.
"There is no allegation that Virginia schoolteachers have used the minute of silence, or any other occasion, to lead students in collective prayer," Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote.
A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that the state can require its 1.1 million public school students to spend a minute in meditation, personal reflection, prayer or any other silent activity.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of a group of Virginia students and parents after the Legislature mandated the minute of silence last year.
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