Is it legal to have student led prayer at public school events,

1. Student Led Prayer at Public School Events, Athletic Contests, and Voluntary Prayer at Commencement

2. Is it legal to have student led prayer at public school events, athletic contests, and voluntary prayer at commencement? The answer-- Yes! No! It all depends! To give you an idea as to why all three answers could be considered according the courts let’s look at some case histories. Let’s begin with some history of religion in the classroom.

3. One case from Illinois, McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U. S. 203, 68 S. Ct. 461 (1948). Students were given religious instruction by private teachers in the public schools during regular classroom time. The Supreme Court ruled that the facts show the use of tax-supported property for religious instruction and the close cooperation between the school authorities and the religious council in promoting religious education violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. In Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 72 S. Ct. 679 (1952), a program in the New York public schools allowed students to be released early from the public school so that they could receive religious instruction at religious schools elsewhere. The Supreme Court ruled that the New York program does not violate the First Amendment because it did not show an establishment of religion.

4. The reason I am starting with these particular cases is to show that society and public school systems thought religion was important enough to allow students to leave early to receive religious instruction or to have it taught in their public school. McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U. S. 203 (1948) brought up the use of tax supported property for religious purposes and that will be an issue with student led prayer at public school events. The removal of prayer from public schools has been very gradual starting in the 1960s. Three important cases started the process of removing prayer from public schools. In Engel v. Vitale, 370 U. S. 421 (1962) the U.S. Supreme Court found the New York Regents' prayer to be unconstitutional. Murray v. Curlett, 1963 374 U.S. 203 (1963), and Abington School District v. Schempp, were consolidated into one case and both dealt with Bible reading and reciting the Lord’s Prayer in school. The Supreme Court got the chance to establish a set criterion in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) 403 U.S. 60291 S. Ct. 2105.

5. This case dealt with Rhode Island's 1969 Salary Supplement Act, and Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (both were found to be unconstitutional) the Court established three criteria needed for a law to be considered constitutional regarding the establishment clause. First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose. Second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion. Finally, the statute must not foster "an excessive government entanglement with religion. This set of criterion used by the Court because of the Lemon v. Kurtzman case became known as the Lemon Test. The Supreme Court now has a set guideline for State Legislatures to follow, regarding religion and the establishment clause. However some states were still trying to find ways to get prayer back in the public schools.

6. Alabama had statutes that by stages allowed voluntary prayer led by public school teachers. In Wallace v. Jaffree, 427 U.S. 38, 105 S. Ct. 2479, 86 L. Ed. 2d 29 (1985) the key question was whether the State Statute Authorizing a Period for Meditation or Voluntary Prayer Violates the Establishment Clause. The District Court found nothing wrong with the first statute that called for a one minute period of silence for meditation in all public schools. Notice that it called for one minute of meditation and not prayer. It then found the second and third statutes unconstitutional. These statutes sanctioned voluntary prayer and permitted teachers to lead willing students in a prescribed prayer to Almighty God…the Creator and Supreme Judge of the world. In Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 112 S. Ct. 2649 (1992), the key question was whether Nonsectarian Prayer at School Graduation is Unconstitutional.

7. In this case the Supreme Court was going to make a major decision regarding prayer led by religious figures at public school graduation ceremonies. Prayer in public schools whether voluntary or involuntary had already be addressed as had been prayers led by government employees. Now the court was going to rule on religious figures leading prayers at graduation ceremonies. A rabbi was invited by Nathan Bishop Middle School principal Robert. E. Lee to deliver a prayer at a public school’s graduation ceremony. The rabbi was given a copy of a pamphlet that recommended prayers at civic ceremonies be inclusive and sensitive. The Defendant, Rachel Weisman, a student at the school, challenged the practice of having prayers at public school graduations. According to Justice Kennedy the case was so obvious that the Court did not apply the Lemon test.

8. The 5-4 decision showed that the Court was one vote away from allowing religious leaders to lead prayers at graduation ceremonies. The Supreme Court has ruled that graduation ceremonies cannot have government employees write prayers for the ceremonies or even encourage prayers and they cannot have religious leaders pray at the graduation ceremony. How do the states try and get prayer back into their graduation ceremony? The next case I am going to discuss will show how innovative some school districts can be in dancing around the First Amendment.

9. In Jones v. Clear Creek School District (1992) 930 F.2d 416 67 Ed. Law Rep. 89 the Clear Creek Independent School District passed a resolution allowing high school seniors to vote for student volunteers to deliver non-sectarian, non-proselytizing religious invocations at their graduation ceremonies. School officials would review the invocation before the graduation ceremonies. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it's constitutional for students to vote on having prayers during graduation ceremonies. The Fifth Circuit Court applied the three prongs of the Lemon test. What is odd is that, in the decision, the Court admits that the practical result will be exactly what the Lee v. Weisman decision did not permit. In other words the real difference between Weisman and Jones was that in Weisman the prayer was led by a religious leader and initiated by the school and principal where in Jones it was student initiated and student led.

10. In the case of Doe v. Duncanville Indep. Sch. Dist. 70 F.3d 402 (5th Cir. 1995) two issues were in question, one dealt with religious music and the other dealt with the school districts practice of permitting its employees to lead, encourage, promote, and participate in prayers with students during various curricular and extracurricular events. In 1995 the Fifth Circuit ruled in a long running case involving the Duncanville I.S.D. that school districts and their employees may not lead, encourage, promote, or participate in prayers with or among students during curricular or extracurricular activities, including before, during, or after-school related sporting events (Doe v. Duncanville I.S.D., known as Duncanville II). In short the law is clear that neither the public school nor its employees may sponsor prayer at school or at extracurricular activities and athletic events. On the issue of prayer in public schools the courts seem to have agreed on the following, students can pray on their own, in some areas of the country they can vote for students to read a prayer at graduation ceremonies and that public schools nor their employees may lead prayer at school or at extracurricular events and athletic events.

11. The final issue to address is students leading prayer at athletic events. The case of Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290, 120m S. Ct 2266 (2000) involves student led prayer before all footballs games using the public address system. The Court of Appeals held that the football prayer policy was invalid. The United States Supreme Court in a 6-3 held that the policy allowing the student led prayer at the football games was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court rulings affect all the states. The rulings of state courts have an affect on the state schools and District Courts only affect those states within the district. As you can see the issue of prayer even when student led can violate the “Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment.

12. In the case of Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000) one of the problems was the use of the public address system on school property for prayer, a real violation of separation of church and state. On May 26, 2011 another case involving graduation prayer came up in Texas. In the case Schultz v. Medina Valley Independent School District 5:2011cv00422 the plaintiff Schultz did not want a prayer read at her graduation ceremony. On June 1, 2011 a federal judge ordered Medina Valley Independent School District 5 Texas to prohibit public prayer at its June 4, 2011 high school graduation ceremony. Late Friday, June 3, 2011 in a back-and-forth battle of legal briefs, an appellate judge in New Orleans overruled district judge Biery’s ruling. As you can see from what I have shown you all three answers were correct at certain times.

13. Another case has gone one step further and is in Illinois. It involves the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) and the restriction that the IHSA put on schools. Member schools of the IHSA were told that they couldn’t announce prayer over public address systems, for state tournaments which many private schools have done for years. Here is a state agency telling private schools what they can do. Does this violate the First Amendment? As you can see progress has been made in making sure that separation of church and state is maintained within the public school system. Yet more can be done especially in the area of consistency throughout the country. Our founding fathers were wise in the idea of separation of church and state yet it certainly has been a challenge maintaining it.