Washington ( CNN ) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a North Carolina county that had regularly opened its public meetings with Christian prayers . The church-state dispute is a victory for two Forsyth County residents who brought suit against the Board of Commissioners . Janet Joyner and Constance Lynn Blackmon were represented in their court challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State . `` When government meetings are opened regularly with Christian prayer , it sends the unmistakable message that non-Christians are second-class citizens in their own community , '' said the Rev . Barry Lynn , who heads Americans United , a Washington-based group . `` The Constitution clearly forbids government to play favorites when it comes to religion . '' Court records show that 26 of 33 invocations given at the council meetings in 2007 and 2008 contained references to Jesus Christ , the Trinity , or other Christian symbols or names . Clergy members from the community often delivered the sectarian invocations . The county seat is Winston-Salem , one the largest cities in the state . A federal appeals court last year found the prayers to be an unconstitutional violation of the Constitution 's Establishment Clause , which forbids any government endorsement of one religion over another . The case is Forsyth County , N.C. , v. Joyner ( 11-546 ) . The high court also turned aside a pair of student speech cases involving off-campus activity in the digital age . Both appeals involved school suspensions of students who engaged in cyberattacks using their home computers . In one appeal from northeastern Pennsylvania , the justices let stand a lower-court ruling in favor of an eighth-grade girl who created a fake MySpace profile of her male principal , who was described as a `` hairy sex addict '' and a `` pervert . '' Attached was a real photo of James McGonigle of Blue Mountain Middle School near Allentown . Court records show the posting was widely circulated at the school among students and faculty , and the principal eventually suspended the girl for 10 days . Her parents , Steven and Terry Snyder , then sued and were represented by the ACLU , which called the posting a `` juvenile humor '' parody . A federal appeals court concluded that the posting caused no substantial disruption at the school , and that officials lacked authority `` to punish students for off-campus speech . '' That same court also ruled in favor of a Pittsburgh-area high school student who also created a mock MySpace profile of his principal , who was labeled as a drug user , `` whore , '' and `` big fag . '' But a separate appeals court had given a West Virginia school district a legal victory after a high school senior was punished for creating what officials called a targeted `` hate website . '' Kara Kowalski had organized a MySpace discussion group involving about a 100 classmates , suggesting a fellow student was a `` slut '' who had contracted herpes . Kowalski sued after she was cited for violating the county school policy on bullying and harassment . Free speech advocates and national school coalitions separately urged the high court to intervene and resolve the conflicting rulings , but the justices gave no reason for their decision to stay out , at least in these disputes . `` Now is the time for the Supreme Court to resolve the question of whether and to what extent school districts have the authority to discipline students for off-campus speech , '' said Francisco Negron Jr. , of the National School Boards Association . `` As technology blurs the lines between on-campus and off-campus speech , school districts need clear guidance to be able to effectively address extreme off-campus speech that interferes with a safe and orderly learning environment . '' In the famous `` Tinker '' case from 1969 , the Supreme Court ruled two Iowa high school students could continue wearing anti-Vietnam War armbands . The high court established an important precedent , saying students do not `` shed their constitutional rights when they enter the schoolhouse door . '' But school administrators do retain the authority to restrict any activity that would cause a `` substantial disruption '' of the school 's educational mission . The current cases are Blue Mountain School District v. J.S . ( 11-502 ) ; and Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools ( 11-461 ) .
Two Forsyth County , North Carolina , residents objected to board stop prayers . The Supreme Court lets a lower court ruling in their favor stand . The high court also upheld stand , favoring those who posted online .