Describes legal issues involving use of school facilities by noncurricular groups such as the Girl Scouts, a student chess club, or a community gardening club. Discusses three Supreme Court cases on the subject: "Westside v. Mergens" (1990), "Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union-Free School District" (1993); and "Good…

Examines the constitutionality of public school personnel organizing prayers at extracurricular events and of using ceremonial prayers, invocation, and benedictions at school activities. Reviews court litigation and Supreme Court decisions that use the Establishment Clause and Lemon test to determine legality. Finds, in most cases, that prayer at…

Discusses the issue of school prayer and explains why prayer in any organized, public, and ongoing form is unworkable in what the author views as a post-Christian nation. The article also explores the insufficiency of the 1984 Equal Access Act that requires schools to grant religious student groups the same privileges as nonreligious groups. (GR)

Lower courts have generally held that Bible distribution in public schools violates the Establishment Clause. More recent litigation has focused on distribution of religious literature other than Bibles. Examines the background of the issue, considers the most recent court decisions, and discusses the implications of these decisions. (57…

Discusses the implications of the Rosenburger case, in which the Supreme Court held that the University of Virginia violated the constitutional free speech rights of students by refusing to subsidize their Christian magazine. Analyzes potential effects on future funding of student organizational activities. (JPS)

Images of heretics burning at the stake or of traitors being drawn, hanged, and quartered for disloyalty to the king seem well removed from twenty-first century America. Yet the laws that defined these offenses--which included heresy and blasphemy, sedition and treason--were at the heart of some of the most significant debates defining the shape…

The prayer-in-school issue can be very emotional and create an extremely volatile situation if not handled properly. This article argues that coaches and athletic directors must know exactly how they will react to situations that may surface to ensure not only compliance with the law, but to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for…

Talking about religion in public middle schools has moved from taboo to necessity during the past few years. Although some middle schoolers hold knowledge of their own religion, most remain uninformed about any of the world's religions, including, for many, their own. The purpose of this article is to make the case for religious literacy--the…

Proponents of school choice are looking for ways to make school choice that includes private and religious schools legally sound. This paper describes how a carefully designed plan for universal school choice would be consistent with key rulings of the United States Supreme Court and the Minnesota Supreme Court. The paper first describes the 1971…

This report addresses civil rights issues that derive from the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion and prohibition against the establishment of religion. The commission is acting under its legal mandate to study and collect information and to appraise the laws and policies of the federal government with respect to…

The town of Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, was incorporated for the purpose of achieving the religious vision of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, just as the Mormons established communities around the teachings of Joseph Smith. The incorporation of Rajneeshpuram was challenged on the basis of the First Amendment, however, raising new questions in regard to the…

Supreme Court decisions, New York State laws, and Fleischmann Commission findings all determine how New York may aid nonpublic schools. The Supreme Court has upheld a New Jersey law permitting reimbursement to parents for transportation of children attending sectarian schools. It also allowed a New York statute providing textbooks to both public…

This article emphasizes the following points concerning policies of the Detroit Board of Education: (1) conflicts over religion and education have been part of politics since 1842; (2) these conflicts were political rather than consitutional; and (3) until 1948 decisions regarding religion were based on "institutional" considerations…

Responding to student recitation of the Lord's Prayer at a high school graduation, recounts how religious differences can create difficulties and discomfort for students in public schools. Argues the right of the minority must be protected from a majority who wishes to promote their religious beliefs at taxpayer expense. (DB)

Summarizes court cases bearing on religion in the school setting and the use of the three-part "Lemon" test in Establishment Clause cases; and examines a Louisiana District Court decision that affirmed the action of a school principal prohibiting a religiously oriented valedictory address. (MLF)