Religious Liberty and Expression

SCHOOLS

BHES

BVES

FOX LANE HIGH SCHOOL

FLMS

MKES

PRES

SCANDALS

The Public Schools of Westchester County New York

Second Reading

Religious Liberty and Expression-Bedford Central School Board

Revisions in italics

"As such, school districts may not mandate, organize or permit the public recitation of prayer as part of a graduation ceremony or athletic event, whether or not student initiated- Bedford Central School District Board

Bold italics represent moved text

The Board of Education adopts the following policy in order to ensure that District officers and employees abide by constitutional standards governing religious liberty and expression within the Bedford Central School District. The US. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts in interpretation of the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause and Establishment Clause have enunciated these standards. Together, these two clauses impose the obligation on public school officials to ensure that school districts remain neutral towards all religions, between religion and non-religion and neither sponsors nor burdens any religious beliefs. In describing these obligations and the constitutional standards which define them, this policy endorses and originates from the US Department of Education's guidelines regarding Religious Expression

in Public Schools first promulgated in August of 1995.

Official neutrality regarding religious activity. School officials must not endorse religious activity or doctrine. Teachers and administrators, when acting in such capacities, are representatives of the state and are prohibited by the Establishment Clause from soliciting or encouraging religious activity, such as prayer, and from leading or participating in such activity with students.

At the same time, school officials may neither forbid nor discourage students acting on their own from expressing their personal views or beliefs, or from participating in student activities, solely~ because they are of a religious nature, provided that they do so in a non-disruptive manner when they are not engaged in school activities. Neither may school officials solicit or encourage anti-religious activity.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a school district may not take affirmative steps to create a vehicle for prayer to be delivered at school assemblies or via a school's public address system. As such, school districts may not mandate, organize or permit the public recitation of prayer as part of a graduation ceremony or athletic event, whether or not student initiated

Student prayer and religious discussion. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. Schools may not discriminate against private religious discussion or expression by students but must instead give students the same right to engage in religious activity and discussion as they have to engage in other expressive activities in a nondisruptive manner during the school day when they are not

engaged in school activities and instruction, subject to the same rules of order that apply to other student speech. For example, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent that they may engage in comparable nondisruptive activities. Local school authorities possess substantial discretion to impose rules of order and other pedagogical restrictions on student activities, but they may not structure or administer such rules to discriminate against religious activity or speech.

Students may also participate in clubs or activities with religious content on the same terms as they may participate in other non-curriculum clubs and activities on school premises during noninstructional time. Clubs and activities are entitled to be publicized using school media to the same extent as other clubs, but the activities of the club are not to be controlled or regularly attended by non-school persons.

Students may also speak to and attempt to persuade their peers about religious topics, just as they may with regard to social, political and philosophical topics. School officials should not permit student religious speech to turn into religious harassment aimed at a student or a small group of students and should ensure that no student is in any way coerced to participate in religious activities. Students do not have the right to make repeated invitations to other students to participate in religious activity in the face of a request to stop.

Teaching about religion The Board of Education recognizes its responsibility to teach students about religion and its role as a vital force in the development of civilizations, as well as to foster a respect for religion and religious beliefs. In addition, the Board believes that it is the duty of the school district to ensure that every student fully understands the principle of religious freedom that is part of this country's heritage.

To fulfill these acknowledged responsibilities, the Board encourages factual and objective teaching about religion. Instructional programs will be encouraged that: (1) focus on the role that religion has played in history or in the development of a society or culture, and (2) educate students about the principle of religious liberty as one of the central elements of freedom and democracy.

Public schools may not provide religious instruction, but they may teach about religion. The Bible or other scripture, the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible (or other scripture) -as-literature, the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries, and religious influences on the arts, social studies and literature are all permissible public school subjects.

No teacher shall coerce or encourage any student to participate in any prayer or invocation of a religious nature to any deity or undertake any such activity involving students on school property.

School Ceremonies & Observances. Although public schools may teach about religious holidays, including their religious aspects, and may celebrate the secular aspects of holidays, schools may not observe holidays as religious events or promote such observance by students.

Activities related to the observance of religious holidays will be permitted to the extent that they are conducted in an unbiased and objective manner and focus on the origins of the holiday, its history, and the generally agreed upon meaning of the holiday observance.

In planning activities related to a religious holiday or theme, special effort should be made to ensure that the activity is not devotional and that students of all faiths can participate without feeling that they are acting contrary to their own beliefs. Plays, assemblies and concerts shall not be overtly religious, and to this end religious music should not dominate the selection of music.

The display of religious and secular objects that are associated with religious holidays are permitted to the extent that: a) they are used to illustrate the cultural heritage of the holiday; and b) they are temporary. Such displays must provide diversity in their representation of religious andlor cultural symbols.

Student assignments. 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. Such home and classroom work shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance.

Religious literature. Students have a right to distribute religious literature to their schoolmates. School officials may impose the same 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 regulations.

Absences

Curriculum. Subject to applicable State law, school officials exercise substantial discretion to excuse individuals from curriculum or lessons on religion grounds. Students have a Federal right to be excused from lessons which substantially burden - and which are not merely inconsistent with -- the student or student's parents' sincerely-held religious beliefs. School officials, however, may neither encourage nor discourage students from seeking to be excused.

Ceremonies. Students should be given the option to be excused from participating in those parts of a school ceremony, observance or holiday event which substantially burden their own or their parent's sincerely-held religious beliefs.

Released Time for Religious Observance and Education. Pursuant to State law and Commissioner regulations, school officials have the discretion to dismiss student to off-premises religious observance and education provided that schools do not encourage or discourage participation or penalize those who do participate. The student's parent must provide a written request for release and in addition the observance or education must be conducted by or under the eye of a duly constituted religious body

Teaching values. Though schools must be neutral with respect to religion, they may play an active part with respect to teaching civic values and virtue and the moral code that holds us, together as a community. The fact that some of these values are held also by religions does no make it unlawful to teach them in school.

Student dress and appearance. Subject to limitations imposed by decision of the Commissioner of Education on the authority of school officials to regulate student dress and appearance, school officials enjoy substantial discretion in adopting policies relating to student dress. Students generally have no Federal right to be exempted from religiously neutral and generally applicable school dress rules. However, schools may not single out religious attire for prohibition or regulation, and students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages.

Dispute resolution. When First Amendment questions arise, it is district policy to take reasonable and expeditious steps to resolve such issues at the district level with participation of

all interested parties. The Board directs the Superintendent to administer this process.

Notice of Policy. A copy of this policy shall be provided to all certified staff members and those substitute teachers, guest speakers and instructors, or consultants who will have access to students for purposes of instruction, prior to their engagement and the commencement of their duties.

Adopted:

Prior Policy: 4821 (& numbers preceding those)

5182, Released Time for Religious Instruction

Cross References: 0050, Academic Freedom

4350, Diversity and Multicultural Education (in draft)

References: U.S. Constitution, 1st Amendment,

Establishment Clause & Free Exercise Clause

Equal Access Act, (20 U.S.C. § 4071 et. Seq)

New York State Constitution, Article X1, § 3

New York Education Law § § 1709 (1)

8 NYCRR § 109.2

Engle v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)

Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)

McCollum v. Board of Education, 33 U.S. 203 (1947)

Matter of Cromwell, 72 St. Dept Rep. 116

Matter of Pasquale, 30 EDR 361 (1991)

Matter of Rubenstein, 2 EDR 299 (1962) Matter of Sebouhian, 31 EDR 397 (1992) Religious Expression in Public Schools; Richard W. Riley, US Secretary of Education (Revised May, 1998

Back to Bedford Central School District