Lassonde

Plaintiff Nicholas Lassonde brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , alleging that school officials violated his First Amendment rights by censoring sectarian, proselytizing portions of a speech that Plaintiff gave at his high school graduation ceremony. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, concluding that the school officials’ acts were necessary to avoid violating the Establishment Clause. We affirm.

*981 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Because of his sterling grade-point average of 4.24, Plaintiff was one of two co-salutatorians of the Amador Valley High School class of 1999. As a result of his academic standing, he was invited to deliver a speech at the school’s graduation ceremony that year. Plaintiff, who is a devout Christian, drafted a speech that quoted extensively from the Bible. In his declaration, Plaintiff explained that he intended for the speech to “express[ ][his] desire for[his] fellow graduates to develop a personal relationship with God through faith in Christ in order to better their lives.”

Principal Coupe, who maintained control over all aspects of the graduation ceremony, asked Plaintiff to submit a draft of his…