The U.S. Department of Education has strengthened protections for prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools in an updated guidance.
The Guidance On Constitutionally Protected Prayer And Religious Expression In Public Elementary And Secondary Schools, released Feb. 5, states that under recent Supreme Court rulings that interpreted First Amendment rights in schools, “all members of a public school community have a constitutional right to religious expression in public schools, including a right to engage in prayer.”
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The guidance clarifies that such speech and expressions within schools is protected, as long as the expression “does not compel others to participate in or otherwise affirm that religious expression, and so long as the individuals in question do not engage in such religious expression as part of the official activity of the school itself. It follows that public schools, school officials, and teachers may not suppress such religious expression, but also may not coerce it.”
Neither secular views or religious views are to be favored over each other, the guidance states, and religious dialogue should be addressed the same as secular speech.
“For example, an essay with religious content should be graded by the same academic standards as a secular essay of similar quality,” the guidance says.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Hannah Davis and originally published by Decision Magazine. Used with permission.
