A Wisconsin high school graduate is challenging her school district after officials reportedly refused to let her include a favorite <a href="https://christiancorner.us/2026/07/01/morgan-wallen-highlights-christian-faith-with-bible-verse-on-leg-cast-during-concert/" title="Morgan Wallen Highlights Christian Faith With Bible Verse on Leg Cast During Concert”>Bible verse in her graduation slideshow, prompting claims of religious discrimination and a potential legal battle over students’ free speech rights
Sarianne Beronja, who graduated from Arrowhead High School in Waukesha County in 2026, said she submitted Proverbs 3:6 to appear alongside her senior photo during the school’s commencement slideshow. The verse reads, “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”
According to Beronja, less than 24 hours before graduation, an associate principal informed her that the verse could not be used because the district prohibits religious messages in the slideshow. She said she also was told she could not replace it with a message thanking God for being “beside me through these last four years.”
“My faith helped shape who I am,” Beronja 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.”
The Arrowhead Union High School District says the decision was based on its longstanding policy that the graduation slideshow constitutes school-sponsored speech rather than a public forum
Superintendent Conrad Farner told Fox News Digital that students were instructed in advance to limit their messages to family thank-yous and future college or career plans
“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.”
Farner also pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which allows school officials to regulate school-sponsored student expression when restrictions are “reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns.”
He added that allowing religious or political messages could create disputes over other forms of expression during commencement and said the district has decided to discontinue the graduation slideshow in future ceremonies
Beronja, however, disputes the district’s reasoning. She told Fox News Digital that previous graduation ceremonies included Bible verses and other expressions of faith, leading her to believe the policy has not been applied consistently
Now, with support from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), Beronja and her mother are urging the district to revise its policy so future graduates can freely express their faith
“We are celebrating our country’s 250th birthday, and, after all, the United States was founded on being a nation of religious freedom,” Beronja said. “I think the school district should make sure that students of faith are not treated differently because their expression is religious.”
WILL argues that the district violated Beronja’s First Amendment rights by allowing personal messages while excluding religious viewpoints
“‘Separation of Church and State’ is not an excuse to erase the viewpoints of students of faith,” said Cory Brewer, deputy counsel for WILL. “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.”
The legal organization has called on the district to change its policy immediately and says it is prepared to pursue legal action if officials refuse. The dispute highlights an ongoing national debate over where schools should draw the line between maintaining government neutrality and protecting students’ constitutional rights to express their religious beliefs
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