The ACLU filed suit against the Cheatham County School Board today in federal court. The lawsuit has been filed against the Cheatham County School Board alleging that school officials have promoted their own religious beliefs and allowed and encouraged public prayers at school events.

Civil rights attorney George Barrett and the Tennessee chapter of the ACLU filed the suit in federal court today on behalf of four students, listed under aliases. Two were students who graduated last year from Sycamore High School, one is a current student at Sycamore High School and another attends Cheatham Middle School.

The suit seeks an injunction against the schools to prevent them from continuing the activities mentioned in the suit, and nominal damages for the two students who have graduated.

Among the allegations are that a planned prayer took place at graduation; that the Gideons International were allowed to speak to classes and distribute Bibles; that a cross hangs in a classroom; and that a history teacher taught that the United States is a “Christian nation” and decried the separation of church and state. “Their actions discourage honest citizens who have divergent views and want to participate in a public education,” Barrett said.

Attorney Allen Woods of Woods & Woods, which represents the school board, said they hadn’t yet examined all the allegations contained in the lawsuit but that there is no policy of religious behavior being tolerated or persecuted.