Federal school prayer guidelines result in fewer complaints

With high school graduation time approaching, the Department of Education’s guidelines on constitutionally protected prayer in schools are becoming especially pertinent. The guidelines were released in February, and school officials had until March 15 to notify state officials of their compliance with the guidelines. The state officials then had until April 15 to report that information to the federal government.

The Associated Press reported that while many schools have already done so, some still have not. Letters outlining the new guidelines were sent to the 15,000 school districts in the country. “It was basically guidance to schools telling them what’s permitted,” said Education Department spokeswoman Susan Aspey. “The guidance is clear that states and school districts that don’t comply with the guidance and the law do put their federal funding at risk.”

“What is critically important right now is as we approach graduation, for students to understand that, if they’re the class speaker and they want to include a religious message as part of their prepared message, they have the right to do that,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

In the past, graduation time has caused the ACLJ to be “literally inundated with calls and questions on the issue of prayer at graduation ceremonies,” said Sekulow. “While we’ve had a number of calls [this year], they’ve all been resolved easily, and there’s a lot more uniformity, because students and school administrators understand exactly what the rules are.”

Sekulow appreciates the new guidelines because they help clear up past confusion over what is and is not allowed on school grounds. “I thought the guidelines were a good idea,” he said.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said that the guidelines will help dispel the myth that “public school property is to be not only a religiously neutral place for government-sponsored expression but a place where student religious expression is suppressed or censored.”

The new guidelines, which were required to be issued by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, were developed by Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Each year, schools will be required to submit a letter of compliance with the guidelines by October 1.

“Secretary Paige’s guidelines make it abundantly clear that our nation’s public school systems do not leave their First Amendment rights of the religious expression at the boundary of public school property,” said Land. “This helps in that there are consequences for ignoring the First Amendment in a public school.”

The rules specifically outline what is and what is not allowed in schools. For example, students are allowed to read a Bible during lunch or recess and express their faith in homework assignments. Schools are prohibited from endorsing a religion by doing things such as encouraging students to pray. The rules also say that students may organize prayer groups or religious clubs and teachers may take part in these groups if it is clear that they are doing so outside of their “official capacity.”

In a related story, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is threatening a lawsuit against a Kansas school principal for suggestions she made regarding the National Day of Prayer (NDP). Ellen Green, in her weekly memo to teachers at Fairfield West Elementary School, urged teachers at the school to stand next to their students’ desks and pray for them during the NDP.

Green wrote, “God honors those who honor Him and seek His will. I plan to make this a day of prayer and fasting. I would welcome your joining me in seeking God’s favor and direction.”

“I think it’s ridiculous that the ACLU is threatening a lawsuit and bringing this case, trying to say that this is somehow a separation of church and state issue,” said Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel. “Clearly, I think, if the President of the United States can attend a NDP event, then a principal of a school can ask her teachers to be able to pray for students in that school.”

Green said she told the teachers not to pray during school hours or in a “way that would be inappropriate or offensive to anyone.” The National Education Association (NEA) is also considering taking action against Green.

“Whenever there’s a liberal cause, the NEA will stand up for the academic freedom of teachers or principals; but when it comes to the issue of religion or some conservative cause, all of a sudden they forget about those same principles,” said Staver.

— E.P. News