free speech rights were being violated , and said their choice of the piece was made on purely artistic , not religious , grounds . They also cited previous examples where a limited use of religious imagery in a public setting was considered acceptable . Such examples are Ten Commandments monuments in city parks and opening legislative sessions with a prayer . Justice Samuel Alito publicly dissented with the high court 's rejection of the appeal . `` When a public school purports to allow students to express themselves , it must respect the students ' free speech rights , '' he said . `` School administrators may not behave like puppet masters who create the illusion that students are engaging in personal expression when in fact the school administration is pulling the strings . '' The high court declined to explore whether those attending a graduation ceremony constituted a `` captive audience '' that might feel forced to hear a religious message with which they may disagree . The case is Nurre v. Whitehead -LRB- 09-671 -RRB- . In other Supreme Court action : • The justices agreed to decide whether a district attorney 's office can be held
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Supreme Court declined to intervene Monday in a dispute over a public school 's refusal to allow an instrument-only version of `` Ave Maria '' at a graduation ceremony . Officials feared the piece would be an endorsement of religion in that limited public forum . Without comment , the justices rejected the appeal of Kathryn Nurre , who was a high school senior in Everett , Washington , in 2006 . By tradition , graduating members of the school 's wind ensemble could choose a piece from their repertoire to play at the June ceremony . They chose an arrangement of Franz Biebl 's well-known `` Ave Maria , '' which had been performed previously in choir recitals . School district officials said they feared complaints similar to those that followed the previous year 's choir performance of a vocal piece that included references to God , heaven and angels . `` Ave Maria '' was banned even though the performance would have contained no lyrics . The school district told principals to approve only musical selections that were `` purely secular in nature . '' Nurre and others sued , saying their