I remember a time when our school days started with prayer. It was a moment of quiet reflection, a chance to connect with something greater than ourselves, and an opportunity to foster hopefulness, love, and respect for mankind. However, since prayer has been removed from our public schools, I have witnessed a heart-wrenching decline in moral values and behaviors.

Violence in schools has increased alarmingly. The Centers for Disease Control reports that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 U.S students say they have been bullied at school (CDC). Sexual promiscuity is rampant among teenagers today. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), nearly half of all high school students are sexually active - an alarming statistic that we cannot ignore.

Perhaps most devastatingly of all is the rise of mental illness and suicide among our youth. The National Institute of Mental Health states that suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 (NIMH). This is not just statistics; these are our children - your children - who are suffering.

We need to return to the values that once guided us; we need to bring back prayer into public schools as a way to instill hopefulness, love, respect for mankind as well as God-consciousness into our children's lives once again.

Please sign this petition if you believe in restoring prayer back into public schools – it may be one key towards reclaiming the future we want for our children.