Prayer is Still Constitutionally Protected Even for Teachers in Schools
Prayer Still Protected Even for Teachers
It may surprise you to know that not all prayer in school is forbidden in America. In fact, we just helped secure a significant victory for one teacher who simply wanted to pray before the school day started.
We, at the ACLJ, are excited to celebrate a victory in a recent religious liberty situation. In this specific instance, a high school art teacher in Fenton, Illinois, wanted to have a monthly prayer meeting during free time. School staff and parents had participated in the National Day of Prayer for fourteen years, and some teachers and parents wanted to meet on a monthly basis before or after school hours to pray for students and the school.
However, the superintendent and principal notified the teacher that she could not hold prayer meetings on school property, demanding that the teacher must cancel her next scheduled meeting.
Surprised by such a demand, she immediately contacted the ACLJ through our online legal help request form. We informed her that the law allows her to pray or study the Bible during her free time if it does not conflict with her job responsibilities. We also explained to her that, while teachers may not be able to invite parents for prayer, parents should be allowed to meet on school property on an equal access basis as an outside group.
Empowered by this information, she met with the school officials over the course of several weeks and eventually achieved the school administration’s compliance with the U.S. Constitution and our nation’s laws. She was allowed to have a prayer meeting before school hours. Interested parents of students can do the same and use school facilities for prayer on an equal basis as an outside group.
We are encouraged and pleased to hear stories of success such as this one. We thank you for your support and prayers for the ACLJ, which enable us to help defend Constitutional freedoms and empower individuals with information to stand up for their rights.
As the Supreme Court has famously held, “[N]either students [n]or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Today, that fundamental freedom remains in place.
Take action with the ACLJ as we continue fighting for life and liberty. Make a tax-deductible gift today.
California Finally Capitulates and Lifts Worship Ban on Churches
This week – approximately ten (10) months following implementation of an outright ban on worship in churches – California has finally lifted the unconstitutional restriction. As you might recall, on July 1, 2020, California issued a mandate that places of worship “must therefore discontinue singing...
“Woke” Public School Teachers Are Now Targeting Christian Students
The wave of progressive ideology is continuously being pushed on our children in public and private schools. This is something we have fought against since the 90s. In a recent case in which we assisted, a public school drama teacher in Florida decided she was not going to allow a student to...
“Woke” Public School Teachers Are Targeting Christian Students
Within the first year of the ACLJ’s founding, our Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow was already fighting at the United States Supreme Court for students’ right to religious freedom under the First Amendment within the public school system in Board of Education v. Mergens (1990) . And we won. Unfortunately,
UPDATE: Oklahoma's Religious Freedom Act Just Passed the State Senate
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions swirled about what was “essential” and what wasn’t. At the ACLJ, we firmly believe that churches and worship services are essential, and we have fought to safeguard those constitutionally protected rights and institutions. Shockingly, we...