Wisconsin student alleges high school prohibited her from using Bible verse at graduation

A Wisconsin high school graduate is alleging religious discrimination after school officials barred her from including a Bible verse in a graduation ceremony slideshow due to the district’s neutrality policy.Sarianne Beronja, a 2026 graduate of Arrowhead High School in Waukesha County, said she submitted Proverbs 3:6 as her personal message to appear beside her photo in a slideshow playing during the commencement ceremony.The verse reads: “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”Beronja said that less than 24 hours before the ceremony, an associate principal told her she could not use the verse because religious messages are prohibited.

The student said school officials also told her she could not share an alternative message thanking God for being “beside me through these last four years.”“My faith helped shape who I am,” she told Fox News Digital.“Over the past four years, this verse was something I kept coming back to that kept me grounded and moving forward.”Superintendent Conrad Farner told Fox News Digital that religious and political messages were barred from the graduation slideshow because it is considered “school-sponsored speech.” He said students were given explicit instructions to limit messages to family thank-yous and future plans.

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story.

“By defining the boundaries of the slideshow ahead of time (limiting the topic strictly to family thank-yous and future career/college plans), the expectations and limits were clearly articulated and established,” Farner said.“The slideshow was never meant to be a forum for ANY religious or political viewpoints. It is an extremely brief picture of each graduate that allows for an extremely brief thank you or future plans. Again...