LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY exotic_princess)

Supposedly this is the first challenge of the Texas law mandating a moment of silence... not *strictly* dominionist but worth watching.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3721919.html

David and Shannon Croft say in the complaint that one of their children was told by an elementary school teacher to keep quiet because the minute is a "time for prayer."

The complaint filed last week names Gov. Rick Perry and the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, which the Croft's three children attend in the suburbs of Dallas.

David Croft, a 37-year-old computer programmer, said there is no secular reason for a moment of silence.

"This is just a ruse to get prayer in school without calling it prayer in school," he said. "Is there any study showing a moment of silence helps education?"

...

State lawmakers were aware of such debate when they wrote the Texas law, said Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, a co-sponsor of the law. The measure designated the moment of silence as neutral time, despite arguments from some lawmakers that a verbal prayer should be included, Branch said.

Branch said that letting children pray in school makes them feel the school is not hostile toward their religion.

"I just wanted to create an opportunity for families who want their children to be able to pray at the beginning of the school day toward a higher being to be able to do so," Branch said.