The excerpts below come from the U.S. Department of
Education's document "Guidance
on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and
Secondary Schools" (February 7, 2003). See www.ed.gov.
See also, Teachers'
Guide to Religion in the Public Schools and Teaching
the Reason for the Season.
Students
can pray, read religious material, and talk about their faith at
school.
"Students
may pray when not engaged in school activities or instruction,
subject to the same rules designed to prevent material
disruption of the educational program that are applied to other
privately initiated expressive activities. Among other things,
students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace
before meals, and pray or study religious materials with
fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other
noninstructional time
to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious
activities."
Students
can express their faith in class work and homework.
"Students
may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork,
and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination
based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home
and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic
standards of substance and relevance and against other
legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Thus,
if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of
a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for
example, a psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic
standards (such as literary quality) and neither penalized nor
rewarded on account of its religious content."
Teachers
can organize prayer groups with colleagues.
"When
acting in their official capacities as representatives of the
state, teachers, school administrators, and other school
employees are prohibited by the Establishment Clause from
encouraging or discouraging prayer, and from actively
participating in such activity with students. Teachers may,
however, take part in religious activities where the overall
context makes clear that they are not participating in their
official capacities. Before school or during lunch, for example,
teachers may meet with other teachers for prayer or Bible study
to the same extent that they may engage in other conversation or
nonreligious activities. Similarly, teachers may participate in
their personal capacities in privately sponsored baccalaureate
ceremonies."
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