AP Success - AP U.S. Gov & Pol: SCOTUS Comparison: Constitutional Provisions and Prayer in Schools: Engel v. Vitale (1962)

From 1978-82, Alabama passed three laws promoting prayer in public schools: allowing a “moment of silence,” allowing voluntary prayer sessions, and letting teachers lead prayer with “willing students.” Mobile, Alabama, resident Ishmael Jaffree was against these laws, as his elementary-aged children were teased for not praying with their peers. 

Jaffree sued the Mobile County School Board in 1982. The United States District Court sided with the school board. Federal Appeals Court struck down two of the Alabama laws, whereupon the state appealed the case to the Supreme Court as Wallace v. Jaffree (1985).

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that although holding a moment of silence in public schools was constitutional, open prayer and teachers’ participation in it were unconstitutional.