Vitale, U. Pontotoc County School District, F. Supp , N. See also Hall v. Koch, F. Perry, F. Gilmore, F. Gwinnett County School Dist. Duncanville Independent School Dist. Douglas County School Dist.
John Doe, F. Weisman, U. Chandler Unified School Dist. Doe, U. Jackson Public School Dist. Capistrano Unified School Dist. Vincent, U. Madigan, F. Indian River School District, F. Cleveland Board of Education, F. Tangipahoa Parish School, F.
Supreme Court in its Marsh decision. However, the court did not reach the ultimate question of whether the prayers occurring at school board meetings were unconstitutional. Skip Navigation. Expand search Search. Free Speech. Religious Freedom. Are vocal prayer and Bible reading in the classroom permitted? Can there be prayer before or after athletic events or activities? Arguments can be made for both groups of people who are for and against prayer in school.
What does it all boil down to? Freedom of religion still applies, just do not organize or endorse it in our schools. It is pure ignorance for someone to think that one religion is accepted throughout the world. No man or woman should be forced into a specific religion, quieted by peers, or not allowed to gather as a group of students just to pray. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
On the opposing side, accommodationists oppose separation between church and state, interpreting the first amendment exactly as it is stated. If a child were so inclined to learn about one of the many theories of creation, s he could go to a nearby church and learn about it.
Religion in school: the Constitution does not allow it, our fore fathers did not sanction it, and it is out duty to fight it. A Detailed Analysis of the Constitution. Boston: Adams, Maddox, Robert L. Separation of Church and State. Massachusetts law requires teachers to ask the students if anyone would like to offer prayer for the class.
Any student who does not wish to participate may leave the classroom. Prayer at public school events is a controversial and complicated topic because it can involve three clauses of the First Amendment: the establishment clause , the free exercise clause, and the free speech clause. The Supreme Court has shown particular concern with subtle and not-so-subtle coercive pressures in elementary and secondary schools.
As early as Engel v. Vitale , the Supreme Court declared that public prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause. In this instance, a prayer approved by the New York state board of regents was read over the intercom during the school day when students were required to be in attendance. Other public events are slightly different, because attendance is not viewed as mandatory in most cases.
In many cases, however, these public events are, essentially, required events, and the Court has considered them to be such.
In Lee v. Weisman , the Court held that claiming a teenage student in contemporary society has a real choice not to attend his or her graduation was not at all realistic.
As the Court has explained in several cases, "there is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect. The Supreme Court's decisions set forth principles that distinguish impermissible governmental religious speech from constitutionally protected private religious speech. For example, teachers and other public school officials, acting in their official capacities, may not lead their classes in prayer, devotional readings from the Bible, or other religious activities, [ 4 ] nor may school officials use their authority to attempt to persuade or compel students to participate in prayer or other religious activities.
Although the Constitution forbids public school officials from directing or favoring prayer in their official capacities, students and teachers do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics just as they do with regard to political topics.
Local school authorities possess substantial discretion to impose rules of order and pedagogical restrictions on student activities, [ 12 ] but they may not structure or administer such rules to discriminate against speech with a religious perspective.
Where schools permit student expression on the basis of genuinely content-neutral criteria, and students retain primary control over the content of their expression, the speech of students who choose to express themselves through religious means such as prayer is not attributable to the State and may not be restricted because of its religious content.
The Establishment Clause prohibits State officials from making judgments about what constitutes an appropriate prayer, and from favoring or disfavoring certain types of prayers—be they "nonsectarian" and "nonproselytizing" or the opposite.
Students may pray when not engaged in school activities or instruction, subject to the same rules designed to prevent material disruption of the educational program that are applied to other privately initiated expressive activities.
Among other things, students may read their Bibles, Torahs, Korans, or other scriptures; say grace before meals; and pray or study religious materials with fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other non-instructional time to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious activities. While school authorities may impose rules of order and pedagogical restrictions on student activities, they may not discriminate against student prayer or religious perspectives in applying such rules and restrictions.
Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and "see you at the pole" gatherings before school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other noncurricular student activities groups. Such groups must be given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other noncurricular groups, without discrimination because of the religious perspective of their expression.
School authorities possess substantial discretion concerning whether to permit the use of school media for student advertising or announcements regarding noncurricular activities. However, where student groups that meet for nonreligious activities are permitted to advertise or announce their meetings—for example, by advertising in a student newspaper, making announcements on a student activities bulletin board or public address system, or handing out leaflets—school authorities may not discriminate against groups who meet to engage in religious expression such as prayer.
School authorities may disclaim sponsorship of noncurricular groups and events, provided they administer such disclaimers in a manner that neither favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or express religious perspectives. When acting in their official capacities as representatives of the State, teachers, school administrators, and other school employees are prohibited by the First Amendment from encouraging or discouraging prayer, and from actively participating in such activity with students.
Teachers, however, may take part in religious activities where the overall context makes clear that they are not participating in their official capacities. Teachers also may take part in religious activities such as prayer even during their workday at a time when it is permissible to engage in other private conduct such as making a personal telephone call. Before school or during lunch, for example, teachers may meet with other teachers for prayer or Bible study to the same extent that they may engage in other conversation or nonreligious activities.
Similarly, teachers may participate in their personal capacities in privately sponsored baccalaureate ceremonies or similar events. If a school has a "moment of silence" or other quiet periods during the school day, students are free to pray silently, or not to pray, during these periods of time.
Teachers and other school employees may neither require, encourage, nor discourage students from praying during such time periods.
Schools have the discretion to dismiss students to off-premises religious instruction, provided that schools do not encourage or discourage participation in such instruction or penalize students for attending or not attending. Similarly, schools may excuse students from class to remove a significant burden on their religious exercise, including prayer, where doing so would not impose material burdens on other students. For example, it would be lawful for schools to excuse Muslim students from class to enable them to fulfill their religious obligations to pray during Ramadan.
Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious perspective of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.
Thus, if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer for example, a psalm should be judged on the basis of academic standards such as literary quality and neither penalized nor rewarded on account of its religious perspective.
Student speakers at student assemblies and noncurricular activities such as sporting events may not be selected on a basis that either favors or disfavors religious perspectives. Where student speakers are selected on the basis of genuinely content-neutral, evenhanded criteria and retain primary control over the content of their expression, that expression is not attributable to the school and therefore may not be restricted because of its religious or anti-religious content, and may include prayer.
By contrast, where school officials determine or substantially control the content of what is expressed, such speech is attributable to the school and may not include prayer or other specifically religious or anti-religious content.
To avoid any mistaken perception that a school endorses student speech that is not in fact attributable to the school, school officials may make appropriate, neutral disclaimers to clarify that such speech whether religious or nonreligious is the speaker's and not the school's speech.
School officials may not mandate or organize prayer at graduation or select speakers for such events in a manner that favors religious speech such as prayer. Where students or other private graduation speakers are selected on the basis of genuinely content-neutral, evenhanded criteria and retain primary control over the content of their expression, however, that expression is not attributable to the school and therefore may not be restricted because of its religious or anti-religious content and may include prayer.
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