At a recent hearing of the White House Religious Liberty Commission, formed by President Donald Trump, commission members heard multiple reports of public school officials across the nation forbidding students to pray, mention the Bible or Jesus Christ, form Bible clubs, or even wear clothing with Christian messages.
Franklin Graham was among commission members who heard the powerful testimonies of students and parents facing deep-seated hostility from school officials. “It was pretty clear from listening to these students and parents that the progressive secular forces in our schools are out to destroy America by attacking the faith of our young people,” Franklin said. When afforded the opportunity to speak on the record at the hearing, Franklin made a bold proclamation for the power of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
President Trump addressed the hearing, stating: “America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer, and we will never apologize for our faith—ever, ever, never, never. We will never surrender our God-given rights. We will defend our liberties, our values, our sovereignty, and we will defend our freedom.”
The commission hearing was held at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., and Trump said that moments before addressing the commission, he had donated the Trump family Bible, given to him by his mother, to the museum. “For thousands of years,” he said, “the Bible has shaped civilization, ethics, art and literature, and it has brought hope, healing and transformation to untold millions and millions of lives. The Bible is also an important part of the American story.”
President Trump also asked for one million people to join America Prays, an initiative to pray for the nation each week between now and next July, when the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Below are troubling accounts from students and parents who offered testimony to the commission.
Justin Aguilar, North Carolina
When 2025 high school valedictorian Justin Aguilar submitted his proposed graduation speech to school officials, his planned reference to Jesus Christ was crossed out.
“It broke my heart,” Justin said. “These weren’t just lines on a paper or words that were crossed out. But Jesus is part of who I am. I was not allowed to mention the Name of my Friend, the Person who means so much to me.
“They said if I didn’t change the speech, they wouldn’t allow me to give it. They told me that I couldn’t talk about Jesus due to separation of church and state.”
But Justin spoke with the Liberty Counsel law firm, which confirmed that he was within his rights to mention Jesus. He resubmitted his speech—including his remarks about Jesus.
The district never gave him any further direction so, not knowing what might happen, Justin said in his speech, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has always loved me.”
“The crowd erupted,” Justin said. “So to every schoolteacher and administrator and district leader, you don’t have to censor students. You don’t have to be afraid of religious speech. I believe if more schoolteachers and officials knew what the law actually required, they would feel more confident to reject calls for censorship.”
Chike Uzuegbunam, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Chike Uzuegbunam’s parents emigrated to the United States from Nigeria because of the freedoms this country provides. But Chike saw those freedoms threatened while he was attending Georgia Gwinnett College.
“It was during my time there that I embraced Christianity,” he said, “a decision that brought me such profound joy that I felt compelled to share it with others.”
Gwinnett students often used public areas on campus to share their views, advocate for causes or hand out literature. Chike did the same, speaking about his faith with interested students.
But one day in 2016, a college administrator told him to stop. “He said that if I wanted to share my faith with those who stopped by, I needed to reserve one of the school’s two ‘speech zones.’”
Chike followed the speech zone guidelines and began sharing his faith. But within minutes, campus police stopped him again, saying someone had complained, and under the college’s speech code, he had to stop or face disciplinary action.
“At that moment,” he said, “I realized: I could not speak outside the speech zones, and I could not speak within them either.”
Chike contacted Alliance Defending Freedom and filed suit against the college. First, the school claimed Chike’s speech was “fighting words” not protected by the First Amendment. Then it revised its speech policies and asked the court to dismiss the case. A district court and an appeals court both ruled in the school’s favor.
But Chike persevered, and in a resounding 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court said the college was at fault.
“But we still have work to do,” Chike said. “Many students today feel pressure to remain silent about their faith. Many are afraid of being labeled, canceled or punished—simply for speaking truth in love. That’s not the America I want for my two kids. Which is why I’m so grateful to President Trump and this commission for working to preserve our cherished freedoms.”
Shea Encinas, Encinitas, California
“I’ve been a Christian my whole life, and Jesus means everything to me,” 12-year-old Shea Encinas told the commission. “When I was in fifth grade, my school forced me to teach my kindergarten buddy about changing his gender using a book called My Shadow Is Pink. The book said you can choose your gender based on feelings instead of how God made us. I knew this was not right, but I was afraid of getting in trouble. After my family spoke up, the school treated us badly, and kids started bullying me and my brother because of our faith. And the school did nothing to stop it. It hurt a lot, but I kept trusting God. I believe kids like me should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe. I hope no other family has to go through what mine did.”
Shea’s mother, Jennifer, also addressed the commission: “We were told by several community members that principal Kay coordinated with the PTA board room, parents and others to plan a ‘Pink Out the Hate Day,’ specifically to shame our children,” she said.
Shea added: “Some of my friends’ parents even told them not to spend time with me, but I kept trusting God. I knew He was with me and would carry me through. Sadly, my family felt we had no choice but to withdraw from the school district I had loved. We transferred to a private school where we now feel loved, supported and safe every day.”
Jennifer Mead, Rockford, Michigan
After Jennifer and Dan Mead’s 11-year-old daughter started sixth grade at East Rockford Middle School, they noticed that she seemed anxious, sad and withdrawn.
“As the school year went on,” Jennifer told the commission, “she started to fall behind academically, and I began working closely with her teachers and the school counselor. We wanted to do everything we could to ensure she flourished at school. I wanted her to know we were in her corner and would help her navigate any problem she faced, and that Jesus was right beside her every step of the way.
“I was particularly grateful for the school counselor’s help and valued the connection she had made with my daughter.
“I trusted this woman, wholeheartedly. Until everything changed,” Jennifer said.
When an academic report about their daughter included a boy’s name, Jennifer asked if the report mistakenly had information about a different student. After receiving no response, the Meads discovered that the school—and the counselor—had been socially transitioning their daughter for months.
“There really are no words to capture the traumatic impact of the school’s actions on our young daughter and our family. In the days and weeks that followed, it was like she was emerging from a cult. Multiple times a day, she would ask us if we loved her. She’d been taught not to trust us. … But what really broke my heart is that my sweet girl was led to believe she was broken. And she’s not. She was made in the image of God and is beautiful, intelligent and kind.”
With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, the Meads have filed a lawsuit against the school district. “No school district has the right to make life-altering decisions for a child without talking to their parents, let alone concealing those decisions from us,” Jennifer said.
Federal Rights Bolstered
The Trump administration is taking significant action to help prevent situations like those above. During the hearing, Trump announced that the Department of Education would soon issue new guidance bolstering the right to student-led prayer in public schools. And the day following the commission hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo stating that the Department of Justice will protect the rights of parents regarding their children’s education.
“Parents have a fundamental right to direct the moral and religious education of their children,” Bondi said. “Schools receiving public funds must ensure compliance with applicable federal protections, including mechanisms for parents to exempt their children from instruction that conflicts with the family’s sincerely held religious beliefs, such as content related to sexuality and gender ideology.”
