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Headings: Religion’s Legal Place in the Schoolhouse
Religion’s Legal Place in the Schoolhouse
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Content: In other words, a school’s obligation to ensure it does not violate the Establishment Clause does not affect its independent obligation to uphold the free speech rights of students with regard to religious or other expression. On the one hand, the ability of public school teachers to speak freely in the classroom is somewhat limited because public school officials can ensure teachers do not violate the Establishment Clause by endorsing a particular religious viewpoint or requiring students to participate in religious activities. The religious expression of students is private expression fully protected by the First Amendment. A public school may regulate the content of speech when the student’s expression is actually sponsored or encouraged by the school. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe in 2000 held that school-sponsored prayer at high school football games violated the First Amendment even though it was delivered by a student representing the student body. As noted in Tinker, school officials also can regulate speech when the expression causes an actual disruption in the school’s operation, according to the Tinker case. So long as students conduct themselves in a non-harassing and non-disruptive manner, public schools must allow students to express their religious views on the same terms as they allow other forms of expression. What’s Permissible? An issue public school administrators and teachers often confront is the appropriate role that religion may play during instructional time in the classroom. There is a key difference between “religious activity” or “religious instruction” in the classroom — that is between instructing students that the tenets of one religion are true and should be followed, which is not permitted, and teaching about religion, such as what members of various religions believe, which is permitted.