Freedom of Religious Expression in Public
Schools
What
Every Student and Parent Needs to Know
By Jim Jenkins
Publisher’s
Note…
With Christian children and Christian
educators returning to public (government) schools soon, we thought it would be
important for parents and educators to know exactly what their religious rights
are within the public education system. There are two articles in this issue
which we highly recommend that readers make copies of; the following article, which
addresses student’s rights and A Primer
for Christian Teachers in Public Schools, which addresses teacher’s and administrator’s rights.
We recommend that copies of these articles
be made, posted on your church bulletin board and handed out to every parent in
your congregation whose child attends a public school. We especially recommend
that parents make additional copies of this article, and either personally hand
a copy to each of their child’s teachers, or send copies along with their children
on the first day of school so that they may give them to their teachers and
administrators.
Student Freedom of Religious Expression in Public Schools
Much to the dismay of
students, but to the relief of many parents, school will soon begin. The vast
majority of those students, even those from Christian families,
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will be going to public schools. One of the things they will quickly learn is that public schools administrators and teachers are, for the most part, antagonistic or ill-advised about constitutionally protected religious expression. And this is especially true about expression of anything Christian. This attitude is most usually out of ignorance of the law and fueled by the constant threats of lawsuits by organizations such as the ACLU. These threats are based on the tortured interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the over-used and misconstrued concept of the “wall of separation of church and state.” It is necessary to understand that public schools, and teachers, are agents of the government and as such are governed by the same laws and constraints regarding the promotion of religion as any other government agency. But there are constitutional rights which public school students have regarding religious expression in public schools which they, their parents, and teachers should know and appreciate. Supreme Court decisions have held that the state is required to be neutral with respect to religion, and that there must be no hostility towards religion. But hostility, or fear based on ignorance of the law, towards permitted religious expression in public schools, especially if it is Christian, is commonplace, from grade school through college. For example, many public schools have |
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forbidden reference to the word Christmas with respect to pageants, songs and greeting cards during the does not require schools to restrict these religious expressions. Christian students have the right to exchange Christmas cards with religious content, and public schools do not violate any Constitutional provisions by allowing the singing of Christmas carols, or permitting Christmas pageants, and schools may not ban either teachers or students from saying “Merry Christmas.”
Students have the constitutional right to express their faith and religious ideas in public schools. The Supreme Court has held that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The Court has also held that public school students have the right to distribute religious materials at school on the same terms as they are permitted to distribute other materials. Further, schools must permit students to convey religious sentiments through their school assignments, and the selection of reading materials and clothing, which conveys a religious message through words, signs or symbols.
Last Valentine’s Day three Christian boys, who attended a large public high school, wanted to distribute roses to all the girl students with an attached biblical message, or some with the message, “God Loves You.” The school principal told them it was not permissible, believing, we suppose, that such activity would violate the “separation of church and state” principle so widely misused and misunderstood. What these students wanted to do was clearly within their constitutional rights, and the school reversed its position when our office addressed a demand letter to the principal explaining those rights, and threatening a federal lawsuit if the school persisted in its refusal. It was a case of ignorance of the law rather than antagonism against religion, but ignorance and antagonism result in the same denial of protected religious expression. Many grade school teachers have prohibited the exchange of Christmas cards with a religious message, even among kindergarten and first grade students. Clearly, under Supreme Court cases this suppression is prohibited. Christian students have other rights of religious expression as well. Among these are the right to talk about religion on campus; the right to pray as long as it is not disruptive and not forced upon others; and, the right to carry a Bible.
While there are many instances in grade and high schools where there is antagonism against religious expression, especially Christian expression, there is outright hostility towards Christian expression on many state and private university campuses. Administrators have, in some cases, tried to deny recognition to groups such as The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Christian Legal Society, or have tried to drive them off campus. In some instances Christian groups have been denied student fee funding even though Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and even homosexual groups have been supported. The Alliance Defense Fund, and its allied attorneys, have filed suit on behalf of many of these Christian groups and our intervention has been very effective in redressing these unconstitutional hostilities.
The bottom line is this: Christian students, from kindergarten through
college, have constitutional rights of religious expression, and teachers
and school officials have the duty to know these rights, and protect them.
Parents and students should remember that the Alliance Defense Fund is available
to represent you, without cost, if a public school teacher or official denies
you your constitutional rights to religious expression, and you should exercise
those rights freely, without fear or intimidation.
Mr. Jenkins is a Senior Legal Counsel with
the Midwest Regional Office of the Alliance Defense Fund located in Olathe,