SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The moment-of-silence law for Illinois schools, blocked by a constitutional challenge, may be back, the state says.
State schools Superintendent Christopher Koch this week told districts an injunction against the law could be lifted in days, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.
Some superintendents said they are awaiting legal advice. Jim McKay of Community High School District 117 in Lake County said principals would explain the law to students and include a 15-second moment of silence before the Pledge of Allegiance.
"We have to find a way to explain to our kids why it's not a joke at this point," said Superintendent John Hutton of Gurnee School District 56. "The way it's been handled has just been horrible."
The Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, passed in 2007, was challenged by high school student Dawn Sherman and her father, atheist activist Rob Sherman, who asserted it violated the separation of church and state.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ruled that it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
In October, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed him. Gettleman is expected to lift his injunction soon.
