A Montana high school valedictorian is suing her former school district and various school officials for their refusal to allow her to present her valedictory speech as written. As one of several valedictorians in her high school class, Renee Griffith composed a speech containing various religious references that she intended to deliver at her high school graduation ceremony. The speech included several references to God and religion, and school officials required Griffith to modify the speech to make the religious references less explicit. For example, Griffith was required to change the phrase “I didn’t let fear keep me from sharing Christ and His joy with those around me,” to “I didn’t let fear keep me from sharing my faith with those around me.” School officials required Griffith to modify other religious references in a similar fashion. Griffith declined to modify the speech, and school officials did not allow her to deliver the speech she initially had prepared. Griffith asserts that her First Amendment rights under the Constitution were violated and also raises several state law claims. To read an article from the Billings Gazette about this issue, please click here.