After 5-Year-Old Identifies Florida School Employee, School Begins Thorough Investigation Into "Wrong" Prayer

OVIEDO, Fla., April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Perez family met with officials from Carillon Elementary School, regarding an incident that involved a school official telling their daughter that her lunchtime prayer was "wrong."  During the meeting, Miss Perez recounted the situation in its entirety to the principal and an attorney with the school and re-enacted the prayer in the lunchroom.  In addition, at the request of school officials, Miss Perez participated in a line-up of possible suspects, and school officials asked her to identify the exact person who told her praying was wrong. She positively identified that individual.  School officials are now opening a full investigation.

"We are grateful that Carillon Elementary School is now taking this matter seriously and conducting a thorough investigation," said Jeremy Dys, senior counsel to Liberty Institute. "We hope that, at the conclusion of this investigation, school officials will apologize for this clear violation of the Perez family's religious liberty and begin to restore the trust of the community."

Marcos Perez said, "My goal throughout this process has been to defend my daughter's religious liberty. I am thankful that the school now believes that something clearly happened when my daughter attempted to say Grace, and are taking swift action to correct the situation."

About Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute is a national nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America — in our schools, for our churches, inside our military and throughout the public arena. Liberty's vision is to reestablish religious liberty in accordance with the principles of our Founding Fathers. For information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.

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SOURCE Liberty Institute