North Carolina School Under Fire for Disallowing Secular Student Group

Written by Don Byrd
Church-state separation advocates in North Carolina are challenging a high school’s decision not to approve a secular student organization. The Secular Student Alliance is a national organization with chapters in many schools, but Pisgah High School officials in Canton told students the group would not “fit in” at the school, according to a letter sent by the ACLU and FFRF.

Alabama Bill Would Require School Prayer, Disguised as Civic Education

Written by Don Byrd
I have to hand it to Alabama State Representative Steve Hurst. Despite clearly established First Amendment law prohibiting school-sponsored prayer in public schools, he is still trying to find some way to make it a reality. Via Religion Clause, House Bill 318 would require schools to open the day with a 15-minute session that includes a prayer. How does he try to sidestep that pesky thing called the Constitution? Well, according to Hurst, it’s not really prayer as a religious exercise. It is instead an education in civic history because schools will be merely reading prayers that have been delivered in Congress and the state legislature to open their days.

Texas Education Board Adopts New Rules for Textbook Review

Written by Don Byrd
Every year it seems, the Texas Board of Education is embroiled in some dispute over proposed changes to its textbooks. Typically, those seeking changes are not expert in the field, and are attempting to address a perceived slight in the curriculum to their conservative religious viewpoint.

Lawsuit Alleges Proselytizing, Harassment at Louisiana Public School

Written by Don Byrd
Via Religion Clause, the ACLU of Louisiana announced a new lawsuit alleging widespread proselytization and promotion of Christianity in a public school. The Thai plaintiff and her son, a 6th-grade student at the school, are Buddhists. Their claims depict a brazen disregard for the separation of church and state and a general culture of harassment, in which prayers are regularly delivered at school functions, Bible verses and pictures of Christ are displayed in the hallways, and those who complain are invited to convert or to find another school.

Virginia Senate Passes Religious Expression in Schools Bill

Written by Don Byrd
By a narrow 20-18 vote, the Virginia State Senate yesterday passed a bill (SB 236 – see previous post here) that seeks to expand the religious expression rights of students in public schools. The bill would require school districts to implement policies allowing students with any speaking role at school events the right to express religious views. The principal would offer a disclaimer clarifying that the student is not expressing the views of the school.

Proponents of the bill argue this approach will lessen the likelihood of litigation over religious expression because the school is protected by the disclaimer and the student is protected by the explicit right to express his or her views. But is that true?