Know Your Rights: Holiday Observance in Public Schools

While students, teachers, administrators, and staff are celebrating the Christmas season in a variety of creative and entertaining ways in public schools across the country, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is aware that some of these celebrations may be hindered by questions of what is permitted or prohibited.

It is our concern that public schools may feel pressured to censor religious expression during the Christmas season. The White Paper that accompanies this post discusses common questions concerning what activities are permissible for schools to engage in and the rights of students to participate in Christmas or other holiday observances in public schools. This post summarizes that paper.

People often ask whether schools may display religious symbols during Christmas. Under certain circumstances, a public school may display religious holiday symbols in school calendars and in holiday displays so long as there is an appropriate blend with secular items. For example, “[a] nativity scene may be displayed as one item among many secular symbols of Christmas and meet constitutional muster. . . . [But] isolating a nativity scene in such a way as to show government solidarity with the Christian faith violates the Establishment Clause.”

Some people question whether students may sing Christmas carols with religious themes at school events or in holiday programs. As one federal court has held, the Establishment Clause does not prevent the singing of Christmas carols with religious origins by public school choirs. The study and performance of religious songs, including Christmas carols, are constitutional if their purpose is the “advancement of the students’ knowledge of society’s cultural and religious heritage, as well as the provision of an opportunity for students to perform a full range of music, poetry and drama that is likely to be of interest to the students and their audience.”

Likewise, public schools may teach about the biblical origins of Christmas and Easter. The United States Supreme Court has stated that “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.” Therefore, a public school teacher may have students study Biblical passages that relate to Christmas (e.g., Matthew 1:18-2:22, Luke 2:1-20) if the purpose is to study the historical or literary significance of the passages. As the United States Department of Education has explained, “[p]ublic schools may not provide religious instruction, but they may teach about religion. For example, philosophical questions concerning religion, the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible (or other religious teachings) as literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries all are permissible public school subjects.”

Furthermore, public school students may discuss the Biblical origins of the Christmas and Easter holidays (1) in class assignments and (2) with other students during non-instructional time. First, as the United States Department of Education has explained, “Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content 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.” Second, the Department of Education has explained that “[s]tudents 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.”

We hope that the ACLJ’s accompanying White Paper helps clarify the observance of religious holidays in public schools. The ACLJ is dedicated to defending your constitutional rights. We have been providing assistance and legal representation, at no cost or charge, to people just like you for decades. If your rights are being violated in this area, please contact us at ACLJ.org/HELP.

Learn more about your constitutional rights at ACLJ.org/Know-Your-Rights.