United States Dept. of Education Directives to All Superintendents-2004

In a recent speech before high school students in Virginia, President Bill Clinton came out in favor of religious speech in our nation's public schools. He emphasized the need for us to continue to be a nation of toleration for the beliefs of others. He also discussed the need for us to no longer disqualify students simply because of their religious beliefs.

President Clinton specifically addressed the rights of students to express their beliefs on campus. He stated that students have the right to "pray privately and individually whenever they want. They can say grace themselves before lunch. There are times when they can pray out loud together. Student religious clubs in high schools can and should be treated just like any other extracurricular club. They can advertise their meetings, meet on school grounds, use school facilities just as other clubs can. When students can choose to read a book to themselves, they have every right to read the Bible or any other religious text they want."

In continuing to address the rights of students, President Clinton stated, "[s]tudents should feel free to express their religion and their beliefs in homework, through their work, during class presentations. . . . If students can distribute flyers or pamphlets that have nothing to do with the school, they can distribute religious flyers and pamphlets. . . . If students can wear T-shirts advertising sports teams, rock groups or politicians, they can also wear T-shirts that promote religion."

He declared the need for the government to protect the rights of students by noting that "some student religious groups haven't been allowed to publicize their meetings in the same way that nonreligious groups can. Some students have been prevented even from saying grace before lunch." The President then offered solutions to the problem of religious discrimination: "[w]herever and whenever the religious rights of children are threatened or suppressed, we must move quickly to correct it. We want to make it easier and more acceptable for people to express and to celebrate their faith."

President Clinton has even given the Justice Department guidelines for implementing his stated religious rights on public school campuses. The heart of the President's speech is summed up in this one statement taken from the speech: "This country needs to be a place where religion grows and flourishes."

The President's Guidelines were distributed to every public school superintendent in the country at the beginning of the 1995-96 school year by Richard W. Riley, the Secretary of Education for the United States. These Guidelines specify the rights of students on their public school campuses.

What are the Directives concerning establishing a Bible Club on public school campuses?

The Guidelines have a separate section concerning the Equal Access Act, which established the right of secondary school students to have Bible Clubs on their campus. Here is what the Guidelines set out as the United States Department of Education's interpretation of the Equal Access Act:

• Student religious groups at public secondary schools have the same right of access to school facilities as is enjoyed by other comparable student groups. [FN1]

Schools that meet the requirements of the Equal Access Act "may not refuse access to student religious groups." [FN2]

A meeting may include a prayer service, Bible reading, or other worship exercise. [FN3]

A school must allow student groups meeting under the Act to use the school media -- including the public address system, the school newspaper, and the school bulletin board -- to announce their meetings on the same terms as other non-curriculum-related student groups are allowed to use the school media. [FN4]

Finally,

• A school creates a limited open forum under the Equal Access Act, triggering equal access rights for religious groups, when it allows students to meet during their lunch periods or other non-instructional time during the school day, as well as when it allows student to meet before and after the school day. [FN5] (Emphasis added.)

Thus, the Guidelines basically restate the law as addressed in the main body of this booklet.

What do the Guidelines say regarding student prayer and religious discussion?

The Guidelines address the issue of a student's right to pray, or generally participate in religious discussion on campus. In a nutshell, students have the right to pray, or have religious discussions, during the school day provided that students do so in a non-disruptive manner. These rights include the right to "persuade, their peers." [FN6]

• The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. Students therefore have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. For example, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable non-disruptive activities. Local school authorities . . . may not structure or administer such rules to discriminate against religious activity or speech. [FN7] (Emphasis added.)

The Guidelines then get even more specific about the rights of students to pray on their campuses:

• [S]tudents in informal settings, such as cafeterias and hallways, may pray and discuss their religious views with each other. . . . Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics. [FN8]

Clearly students have the right to pray and have religious discussions with their peers on their campuses, including the right to evangelize or persuade their peers.

Do the Guidelines discuss rallies like the annual See You At The Pole rally?

Yes. The Guidelines specifically address the right of students to gather on their campuses for events such as See You At The Pole. The Guidelines make it very clear that such events are considered to be constitutional. While school official should remain neutral on the issue of student religious speech:

• Students may . . . participate in before or after school events with religious content, such as "see you at the flag pole" (sic) gatherings. [FN9]

Do the Guidelines address the issue of prayer at graduation ceremonies and baccalaureate ceremonies?

No and Yes. The Guidelines offer no direction regarding graduation prayer. What has been discussed earlier in this supplement and in the original book is a good explanation of the law concerning students' rights to pray at graduation.

The Guidelines do affirm the rights of students as to baccalaureate services.

• If a school generally opens it facilities to private groups, it must make its facilities available on the same terms to organizers of privately sponsored religious baccalaureate services. [FN10]

In short, baccalaureate services can take place on campus as long as they are privately sponsored and the school facilities are open for the use of outside organizations during non-school hours.

According to the Guidelines, is it constitutional to teach about religion in a public school?

Yes. Schools may teach about religion, even when such teaching includes the use of the Bible. It must be remembered that school officials should be careful not to actually teach religion in such a manner that endorses a particular religious belief. Even though school officials cannot endorse religious beliefs they may teach the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible-as-literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries. [FN11] In addition, it is permissible to consider religious influences on art, music, literature, and social studies. [FN12] Public school officials can also teach about religious holidays and even observe those holidays as long as they do not promote such observances, or make the observation a religious event. [FN13]

What do the Guidelines say about student assignments?

The First Amendment protects student rights, including the right of students to express their religious beliefs in their school work. School officials must not discriminate against a student due to the religious content of a particular student's assignment.

• Students may express their beliefs about religion in the form of homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free of discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. [FN14]

Therefore, students are free to express their religious beliefs in their homework or classwork, as long as the religious beliefs expressed are relevant to the particular assignment.

Can students distribute religious literature to their schoolmates?

Yes. The Guidelines specifically address the rights of students to distribute religious literature on their public school campuses. While there are some limitations on the right of students to hand their schoolmates religious literature, it is important to understand that school officials cannot discriminate against students solely because of the religious nature of their literature.

School officials may regulate the time, place, and manner of literature distribution as long as they have the same rules for all students regardless of their religious beliefs. School officials may not single out religious literature for special regulation. [FN15]

• The Guidelines are very clear concerning literature distribution:

  Students have a right to distribute religious literature to their schoolmates on the same terms as they are permitted to distribute other literature that is unrelated to school curriculum or activities. Schools may impose the same reasonable time, place, and manner or other constitutional restrictions on distribution of religious literature as they do on non-school literature generally, but they may not single out religious literature for special regulation. [FN16] (Emphasis added.)

What do the Guidelines say about religious excusals and release time for off-campus religious instruction?

These two issues are ultimately controlled by state law. If state law permits excusals, then school officials are permitted to allow students to be excused from an assignment that is objectionable to the student or the student's parents on religious or other conscientious grounds. This right is further upheld by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which in some instances requires school officials to excuse students from objectionable assignments. [FN17]

• Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, if it is proved that particular lessons substantially burden a student's free exercise of religion and if the school cannot prove a compelling interest in requiring attendance, the school would be legally required to excuse the student. [FN18]

In the same manner, the Guidelines state that release time is also constitutional. [FN19] Release time is a program where students are permitted to leave campus and go to another location for the sole purpose of receiving religious instruction.

In both of these examples, school officials must be careful not to encourage or discourage students to take advantage of these rights. Thus, school officials can neither reward nor punish students who do or do not participate in these rights. [FN20]

Do the Guidelines address the issue of teaching values in public schools?

Yes. School officials are permitted to teach "civic values and virtue, and the moral code that holds us together as a community." [FN21] Because school officials are government employees there are potential problems if school officials do not remain neutral with respect to religion. Neutral means that a school official can neither support, nor oppose religion, in teaching values in public schools.

It is important to note that some of the values which will be taught are religious; however, that does not make it unlawful to teach them in school. This is again a concept of neutrality. The fact that it is considered immoral to commit a murder does not become a value that is unteachable because the Bible commands Christians not to murder.

What about wearing clothing with religious messages?

Students have the right to wear t-shirts and other clothing with religious messages on them. The Guidelines explain the right of students to wear what the Guidelines refer to as "student garb" with a religious message. The key factor to be considered is that "[r]eligious messages may not be singled out for suppression." [FN22]

• Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages. [FN23]

What this means is simple. If t-shirts are permitted by school officials, there cannot be a requirement that forbids the wearing of t-shirts with religious messages. Furthermore, items such as yarmulkes and head scarves generally may not be prohibited by school officials. [FN24]

Students have the right to express their religious beliefs through the clothing they wear. It should be noted, however, that school officials may from time to time prohibit certain t-shirts. An example of this is the t-shirt that depicts violence. If such a shirt has been prohibited it is possible that a Christian shirt that has blood on it will also be prohibited. The important concept to remember is that if only the Christian shirt is being prohibited it is likely that some form of religious discrimination is occurring.

---

Conclusion The Department of Education Directives should help to clear up some areas of law that are important to Christians. It is my hope that the Directives will help ensure that Christian students are no longer treated like second-class citizens. I believe that the Directives will help students to realize that they have the right to evangelize on their campuses, in a non-disruptive manner, during the school day.

By issuing the Guidelines, the Department of Education has reinforced the rights of students across America to stand up for what they believe when they are on campus. Clearly, the laws of this country support students' rights to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their friends while they are on their public school campuses.

ENDNOTES