And the hits keep coming… Just a week after the 4th Circuit threw out a county commission's prayer policy in North Carolina, the 3rd Circuit has done the same in the highly intense Indian River School Board dispute in Delaware (See the despicable treatment received by one family of plaintiffs that ultimately had to flee the district to escape harassment). While the result is the same as last week's – ruling the invocation policy a violation of church-state separation – the argument is quite different, and significantly so.
Most cases regarding government meetings that begin with an invocation have hinged on the Supreme Court's precedent in Marsh, which dealt with the opening of legislative sessions in the Nebraska state house. That was also the ruling used by the 4th Circuit last week in analyzing the Forsyth County Commission's prayer policy. Here, though, the 3rd Circuit ruled the Indian River School Board meetings were more like graduation ceremonies and other highly important school functions than legislative sessions. In its opinion, which disagreed with and overturned the district court's finding on this point, the Court explained how distinct elements of these meetings played a role in that decision.
[L]ike graduations, the Board's recognition of student achievement allows "family and those closest to the student to celebrate success." For years, the Indian River School Board has used its regular meeting to recognize student accomplishment of various types. These are awards that were previously given out at student assemblies, but the Board deliberately decided to change the location of the awards to its meetings. This change had the effect of ensuring student attendance at nearly all the Board meetings that take place during the school year. Over the years, hundreds of individual students and students groups have attended a Board meeting in order to be recognized for their academic, athletic, or artistic skills and achievements. … Thus, by virtue of the way in which it gives out these awards, the Board does more than casually celebrate student accomplishments; it effectively cloaks them in official recognition.
Therefore, like commencement exercises, a student who decides not to attend the meeting will "forfeit . . . intangible benefits" that "have motivated the student." They will be giving up an opportunity to "celebrate success and express mutual wishes of gratitude and respect." …
Thus, for these students, the meetings are a culmination of their extracurricular activities.
This distinction may sound like a technicality – and in some ways it is: the sectarian nature of Indian River School Board prayers would likely make the policy unconstitutional regardless of whether it is considered like a legislative body or like a school function. Graded with the same scruting as a school function, though, the responsibility to avoid entangling with religion is especially high. While the particular facts surrounding this case were important in this ruling, school boards across the country that choose to begin meetings with prayers of any kind should take note.
