Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) on behalf of some local community members requesting opt-outs for the weekly “Witchy Wednesday” video series aired school-wide at a local high school. The series, which is aired during mid-week morning announcements, is produced by students providing “religious instruction” on spells, magic, moon worship, and other witchcraft rituals. Liberty Counsel cautioned the school against making the instruction mandatory and informed the school that students who wish to share their Christian beliefs in the same manner cannot be denied under the law. 

In the letter to OCPS, Liberty Counsel requested the following confirmations: 

1) that all students and staff who wish to opt out of listening to further episodes of “Witchy Wednesday” (or future student religious content) are afforded an opportunity to do so. 

2) other students, who may wish to share their Christian religious beliefs be permitted an opportunity to do so in a similar manner to the “Witchy Wednesday” segment. 

Liberty Counsel requested a written response from the school by September 30, 2025.

On September 10, 2025, the first episode of “Witchy Wednesday” aired indicating it would continue indefinitely, perhaps through the school year. The first episode opened with a student stating the following:

“Good morning, witches and [SCHOOL MASCOT NAME]. I’m [NAME REDACTED]. Today is Wednesday, September 10th, and this is our first episode of ‘Witchy Wednesday.’ I am here to guide you through your magical midweek journey every Wednesday. To start, there was a new moon yesterday on September 9th, normally regarded as a blank slate and a new start. This phase invites introspection and intention setting. Simple things to honor this phase could be to write your intentions and bury them or just meditate for an energy reset and healing.

“There is a full moon coming up on September 18th where the energy is at its highest peak. Creating simple things like moon water and releasing rituals are good ways to cleanse and recharge yourself during this period. In other news, our first ever ‘Witch Tip Spotlight’ is a spell for enlightenment that I call ‘Light of Insight.’ Its purpose is all about inviting clarity, wisdom, and light into your life. You will need a white candle, paper, pen, and incense. You can burn your incense around your area of practice to clear your surrounding energy for a start.

“You write your intuition down on your paper. Fold it three times. Burn your paper into your white candle. Burn it completely and entirely to have your intention released into the universe. That itself is your ‘Light of Insight’ at work. You then cleanse the space around you once more to finalize your spell. That’s all for today, [SCHOOL MASCOT NAME]. Have a Wicked Wednesday.”

In the letter, Liberty Counsel noted that some students with sincere Christian religious beliefs would not be able to endorse this religious instruction nor would be able to sit through it. According to recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which ruled parents have the right to opt their children out of instruction that undermines their religious beliefs, schools must provide opt outs to “Witchy Wednesday” if parents and students wish to abstain. 

“The First Amendment compels [the school district] to provide any student who desires a religious opt-out to Witchy Wednesday be afforded that option,” wrote Liberty Counsel.

In addition, recent Supreme Court precedent in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District and in Liberty Counsel’s 9-0 victory in Shurtleff v. City of Boston ruled that Christian expression cannot be denied in an open forum where other viewpoints are expressed. Since the school has opened a public forum for expression on witchcraft, if Christian students wanted to present the tenets of their faith in the same manner as “Witchy Wednesday,” these precedents simply would not permit OCPS to exclude them from its morning announcements forum.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Parents and students with contrary religious beliefs to the religious instruction of ‘Witchy Wednesday” have the right to opt out. The First Amendment does not allow government schools to require this instruction, nor can the school deny differing viewpoints after it has opened its morning announcements forum to student expression.  Orange County Public Schools would be wise to proceed by facilitating opt-outs and including other viewpoints. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that public school students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gates.”