School district bars religious groups from holding events on school grounds

A northwest Iowa school district has agreed to prohibit religious organizations from holding events at schools after receiving a complaint about a Christian group holding National Day of Prayer celebrations on school grounds.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a nonprofit organization advocating for the separation of church and state and for nonreligious people, sent a letter to the Le Mars Community School District in June about a local religious group holding events on public school grounds on May 1.

May 1 is celebrated as the “National Day of Prayer” by some Christians – in Iowa, several religious organizations as well as officials like Gov. Kim Reynolds have hosted and participated in National Day of Prayer celebrations throughout the state.

One of those celebrations in 2025 in Le Mars took place at the Le Mars Community middle and high schools. On May 1, the “National Day of Prayer” Facebook page for Le Mars made a post saying that their members “had the joy of partnering with the Le Mars Youth Network” for the celebration at the Le Mars schools.

“Students were welcomed with donuts, breakfast burritos, orange juice, and hot cocoa—and more importantly, with open hearts and listening ears,” the post stated. “We took time to connect with students and asked them how we could be praying for them. It was a meaningful morning of ministry and encouragement. Join us as we continue to lift up the next generation in prayer.”

The social media post featured images showing adults with the religious organization on school grounds. Side by Side Ministries, the organization listed as a contact point on the Facebook page for the local National Day of Prayer group, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sammi Lawrence, an attorney with the FFRF, said a person alerted their organization about this post. The FFRF contacted the school district with a complaint letter after receiving the information, she said, to notify the school asking them to cease allowing religious organizations to hold events and proselytize students on school grounds.

At the event, adults outside the school system had come to the public schools and “were encouraging students to pray and trying to get students to participate in the day of prayer and learn about it” – actions Lawrence said could be “constitutionally problematic.”

“Public schools … shouldn’t be giving outside adults, outside groups, special access to students on schools ground to tell students about their religious message, to try to get them to join their religious groups, or anything like that,” Lawrence said. “Because the First Amendment gives students the right to be free from religious indoctrination in their public schools. And that includes preventing schools from inviting or letting religious groups like this onto campus for the purpose of trying to recruit or proselytize students.”

In the letter to Le Mars Community School District, Lawrence wrote it is “well-settled law that public schools may not show favoritism toward, nor promote or coerce belief in religion” – and that a public school allowing outside religious representatives onto school grounds for the purpose of promoting their religious beliefs violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing or giving preferential treatment to any religion.

In response to the complaint from FFRF, Rachel Fritz, an attorney representing the Le Mars district, responded with a letter stating that the school district communicated with members of the local National Day of Prayer group, instructing them “not to facilitate or lead in any prayer or devotional activities involving students on District property.”

The letter also stated the district has taken “appropriate steps to ensure that any prayer activities occurring on school grounds are entirely student-led or student-initiated, in full compliance with applicable legal standards, including the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.”

The school district did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Lawrence said her organization receives multiple complaints related to the National Day of Prayer each year. Even when organizations like the Le Mars National Day of Prayer group have “good intentions” in trying to hold events at public schools, she said, these events can create difficult situations for students who are not Christian.

“When students who are atheist or agnostic, or who are just simply a faith other than Christian, come to school and see a Christian group being allowed on campus and proselytizing and encouraging prayer, that doesn’t make them feel good — that just makes everyone who doesn’t believe in that feel like an outsider, feel like they’re not really part of the community,” Lawrence said. “And there’s just, there’s no need for that. Really, everyone is better off when schools just stay out of the religion business.”

This story first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.