Florida Graduations Can Be Held at Church

Newsday.com: Florida Graduations Can Be Held at Church: "By MIKE BRANOM | Associated Press Writer | May 18, 2005, 5:29 PM EDT

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that four public high schools can hold graduation ceremonies in a church and do not have to cover up the 16-foot cross in the sanctuary.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell refused to stop the ceremonies because the plaintiffs -- a student, her Buddhist father and an atheist parent who contend the use of Calvary Chapel in Melbourne violates the separation of church and state -- filed their case too late. "