WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let a high school student sue over school officials’ refusal to let her play an instrumental version of “Ave Maria” at her graduation, a decision one justice says could lead to wide-ranging censorship of student speech.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Kathryn Nurre, a former student at Henry M. Jackson High School in Everett, Wash. Nurre, who was a senior in 2006, wanted to play “Ave Maria” — Hail Mary in Latin — with the band’s wind ensemble at the graduation.
Administrators raised red flags at the school where, a year before, a choral performance of the song “Up Above My Head” at the 2005 commencement drew complaints and protest letters to the town’s newspaper. Therefore, school officials said the seniors could not play the song because the title alone identified “Ave Maria” as religious and that graduation should be strictly secular.
Nurre sued, claiming unspecified damages from infringement of First Amendment rights. The federal courts threw out the lawsuit.
