Nondenominational Prayer

In 1962 New York State law required public schools to start every day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer. The law permitted students to excuse themselves from this activity if the found it objectionable. A suit was filed by a parent objecting that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable to the stated through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The issue was whether school sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The court ruled yes on June 25, 1962. The Court ruled that under the establishment clause of the First Amendment, "It is no part of the business of government to compose official