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Lee v. Weisman is a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992. It was about prayer and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment is a part of the Constitution that protects people's freedom of religion. The case was about whether it was okay for a public school to include a prayer in its graduation ceremony.
The case started when the principal of a middle school in Providence, Rhode Island invited a Rabbi to give a prayer at the graduation ceremony. One of the parents, Daniel Weisman, didn't think it was right for a public school to have a religious prayer at a school event. He asked the court to stop the school from doing it.
The Supreme Court agreed with Weisman. They said that the school's prayer was unconstitutional because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Establishment Clause says that the government can't make any laws that establish a religion or favor one religion over another.
The Court said that the school's prayer was a state-sponsored event because it was part of the graduation ceremony. They also said that the students were being forced to participate in the prayer because they had to attend the ceremony and stand in silence during the prayer. The Court said that this was not fair to students who didn't want to participate in the prayer.
For example, if a public school had a graduation ceremony and invited a priest to give a prayer, that would be unconstitutional because it would be favoring one religion over others. It would also be unfair to students who didn't want to participate in the prayer.
This case is important because it helps to protect people's freedom of religion. It also helps to make sure that public schools don't favor one religion over others.