Schools
Burnsville Bus Driver Fired for Leading Prayers on Bus
Richfield resident George Nathaniel, who's also a pastor at two Minneapolis churches, ignored the transportation company's demand that he stop.
Durham School Services fired a Burnsville school district bus driver last week for leading kids in Christian prayers after he’d been warned not to do so, the Star Triune reported.
Richfield resident George Nathaniel is a pastor at Elite Church of the First Born and for Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, in addition to working as a bus driver.
Durham initially received a complaint from the Burnsville district about the prayers. The company reassigned Nathaniel to two new routes. He continued to lead prayers, and Durham sent him a separation letter Oct. 30.
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Nathaniel believes his firing is a violation of his freedom of speech, but a series of Supreme Court cases have established that it’s unconstitutional for any representative of a public school to lead students in prayer.
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