GISD sticks with status quo to hold space for student prayer

Every school day, Gladewater ISD students are invited to take a moment to pause and, if they wish, to pray.
That won’t change.
Monday night, GISD trustees considered and, ultimately, voted down a new policy handed down from on high in Austin. In particular, local elected officials opted to follow Supt. Rae Ann Patty’s recommendation to put Senate Bill 11 to the side and stick with the open SOP here.
“We have always allowed students to pray in schools when they want to. We have never told a child ‘No, you cannot pray,’ or ‘No, you cannot have your quiet time,'” Patty said. “We just want to continue the way we’ve been going.
“We have a moment of silence every day in our schools. It’s an appropriate amount of time for them to sit, reflect, meditate, pray, whatever they want to do.”

TOP: Gladewater ISD Trustee Rickie Blackmon votes on an issue Monday evening. A motion from Blackmon, seconded by Garth Cockerell, was approved 6-0 (with board president Chris Thompson absent) to vote down the adoption of a new ‘daily prayer time’ policy set out by state legislators in Senate Bill 11. Instead, Gladewater ISD will continue providing students with the same broad opportunities for prayer and reflection.