Title: Can students pray in public schools? Can teachers say ‘Merry Christmas’? What’s allowed — and what’s forbidden. - The Washington Post
Headings: Can students pray in public schools? Can teachers say ‘Merry Christmas’? What’s allowed — and what’s forbidden.
Answer Sheet
Can students pray in public schools? Can teachers say ‘Merry Christmas’? What’s allowed — and what’s forbidden.

Content: they can — and often do — openly pray and share their faith in public schools. And what about religious symbols? This is from Teaching Tolerance, a project of the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center: Is bringing religious symbols into public school classrooms ever OK? Many educators struggle with this question, afraid of tripping over the lines that protect our freedom of religion and separate church and state. We know the courts have interpreted the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to mean that public schools cannot promote religious or antireligious beliefs, yet we know that teachers can teach about religion as long as (a) the content is tied to academic objectives and (b) teachers do not attempt to indoctrinate students to a certain religious belief or nonbelief. But does that answer the question about religious symbols? Use symbols as instructional aids, not as permanent display or decoration. While still contested in some areas, permanent displays of religious symbols on public school property violate current interpretations of the Establishment Clause. The Ten Commandments, for example, are unarguably religious in nature.