The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is demanding that the Arrowhead Union High School District remedy unconstitutional religious discrimination after school officials prohibited graduating senior Sarianne Beronja from displaying a Bible verse on her commencement slideshow.

Students were asked by the District to submit personal messages to appear alongside their names during graduation. While the District approved a wide range of personal expressions—including humor, song lyrics, words of gratitude, and even Venmo requests—it rejected Sarianne’s submission solely because it was religious.

A video explaining what happened is available here.

Among other remedies, we are asking the District to rescind any policy, directive, practice, or interpretation that prohibits student religious expression solely because it is religious in nature. 

The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Cory Brewer, stated, “‘Separation of Church and State’ is not an excuse to erase the viewpoints of students of faith. Arrowhead invited students to express themselves and approved countless secular messages, but when Sarianne shared a Bible verse that reflected her faith, school officials censored it. That’s unconstitutional. We are calling on the school board to immediately correct this violation and ensure no future student is subject to similar discrimination. If the District refuses to do so, our clients are prepared to pursue legal action.”  

WILL Client, Sarianne Beronja, stated, “I submitted a Bible verse that guided me throughout high school and helped shape who I am. It was meaningful to me and represented the values I wanted to carry into the future. I don’t think students should be told they can express any viewpoint except a religious one.”

What Happened: On the Wednesday before commencement, Sarianne submitted Proverbs 3:6: “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.” The verse reflected the faith that had guided her throughout high school and informed her future plans. 

Then, at 11:46 p.m. on the night before graduation—less than twenty-four hours before she would walk across the stage—the District informed her that she could not use the verse because it was religious.

Our Argument: The First Amendment does not permit public schools to suppress student speech merely because it is religious. Once a school creates an opportunity for students to express their own views, it cannot exclude religious viewpoints while permitting comparable non-religious speech. The actions by Arrowhead appear to have done exactly that.

What Will Come Next: Our clients hope to resolve this matter without litigation. However, they are prepared to pursue all available legal remedies to defend their constitutional rights.

WILL has asked the school board to take immediate action to ensure that students of faith receive the same constitutional protections afforded to every other student.

Read More:

Read and share the press release online.