ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Public School System (OCPS) has directed West Orange High School to discontinue a weekly “Witchy Wednesday” segment on its morning announcements after objections from Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal organization.
On September 10, West Orange High uploads its morning announcement videos to YouTube, but the episode is not available. The programs are directed by the students. The video is no longer available, but reports noted that the “Witchy Wednesday” segment, hosted by a student, discussed how moon phases can represent different chapters of life, how burning incense can “clear your surrounding energy” and described a ritual of writing “your intuition” on a piece of paper and burning it during the full moon.
Witches giving babies to the devil. 1720. Woodcut. [public domain]
A few days later, a Christian legal group responded. In a letter sent September 18 to the district, Liberty Counsel argued that the short broadcast amounted to “religious instruction” on witchcraft and magic, potentially violating students’ rights. The group cited passages about spells, moon phases, and rituals, saying that Christian students “cannot lend their imprimatur” to such content. The organization also raised concerns about parental opt-out rights in light of recent Supreme Court rulings.
Liberty Counsel is an Orlando-based nonprofit legal organization founded in 1989 by attorneys Mathew and Anita Staver. The group identifies itself as a Christian ministry that provides pro bono legal assistance to advance religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family values.
Liberty Counsel has a long history of litigating high-profile cases and challenging what it perceives as violations of Christian privileges, often invoking both free speech and parental rights arguments. Among its most notable cases are its defense of Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the 2015 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality; support for Lisa Miller, who fled the country with her daughter in defiance of a custody order involving a former same-sex partner; and lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates on religious exemption grounds.
The organization has also defended the display of the Ten Commandments in public spaces, supported prayer and Christian clubs in schools, and represented anti-abortion activists contesting restrictions on protests near clinics.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Liberty Counsel as an anti-LBGTQ+ hate group, a label the organization disputes.
The Wild Hunt reached out to Orange County Public Schools for comment, specifically asking about the video and whether it was related to Wicca. An OCPS spokesperson confirmed that the morning announcements were compiled by a single student and not affiliated with any group or organization.
OCPS also forwarded a letter from OCPS General Counsel John Palmerini,
The letter dated September 23, 2025, confirmed that the district had reviewed the announcements and instructed the school to cease the practice. “No further segments of this nature will take place,” he wrote.
Palmerini grounded the district’s decision in Supreme Court precedent, primarily Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000) and Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988). In Santa Fe, the Court ruled that student-led prayer over a school loudspeaker amounted to impermissible government speech.
By analogy, Palmerini said, “the ‘Witchy Wednesday’ segment would be considered government speech. The segment was delivered over the school’s television system, on the school’s morning announcements under the supervision of school faculty. As such, we cannot constitutionally allow such a segment to continue.”
“Clearly, OCPS has the right to control school-sponsored publications made as part of its curriculum with regard to speech and other expressive activities,” Palmerini wrote. He also referenced School Board Policy, which grants principals authority over student publications.
The district’s response further emphasized that neither the Establishment Clause nor free speech protections required the continuation of the segment. “Because West Orange did not open the morning announcements to indiscriminate use by students, but instead reserved the forum for its intended purpose, as a supervised learning experience for students, school officials are entitled to regulate the content of the morning announcements in any reasonable manner,” Palmerini stated.
On the issue of parental opt-outs, Liberty Counsel’s letter had invoked the Supreme Court’s June 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which required schools to permit parents to withdraw children from certain classroom materials that conflicted with their religious beliefs. Palmerini argued that the question was moot since “the segment in question will not occur in the future.”
Palmerini also expressed disappointment at Liberty Counsel’s public handling of the matter. He noted that local media had obtained the complaint within days, and Liberty Counsel had issued a press release and posted the document on its website with the headline “Florida High School Promotes Witchcraft.”
“The manner in which this matter was handled was surprising,” Palmerini wrote, adding that both groups share “the same goal to ensure that all students have their First Amendment free exercise rights respected.”
Some individuals, presumably with children in OCPS, took to social media to express their concerns that witchcraft and these types of “spiritual influence” have seemingly infiltrated the public schools.
One person noted surprise that “moonbat lunacy” was occurring in Florida rather than California, and added it was proof that “leftists are truly mentally ill.” Others noted that “For Christians, this highlights the increasing importance of training our children about what contradict [sic] God’s Word. Scripture is clear that witchcraft and occult practices are detestable to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).”
OCPS reiterated that the matter is closed.
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