Does the establishment clause apply to students in a public school?
The Establishment Clause speaks to what government may or may not do. It does not apply to the private speech of students. School officials should keep in mind the distinction between government (in this case “school”) speech endorsing religion—which the Establishment Clause prohibits—and private (in this case “student”) speech endorsing religion, which the free speech and free exercise clauses protect.9 Student religious expression may, however, raise Establishment Clause concerns when such expression takes place before a captive audience in a classroom or at a school-sponsored event. Students have the right to pray alone or in groups or to discuss their faith with classmates, as long as they aren’t disruptive or coercive. And they may express their religious views in class assignments or discussions, as long as it is relevant to the subject under consideration and meets the requirements of the assignment.
The establishment clause speaks to what government may or may not do. It does not apply to the private speech of students. School officials should keep in mind the distinction between government (in this case “school”) speech endorsing religion — which the establishment clause prohibits — and private (in this case “student”) speech endorsing religion, which the free-speech and free-exercise clauses protect. Student religious expression may, however, raise establishment clause concerns when such expression takes place before a captive audience in a classroom or at a school-sponsored event. Students have the right to pray alone or in groups or to discuss their faith with classmates, as long as they aren’t disruptive or coercive. And they may express their religious views in class assignments or discussions, as long as it is relevant to the subject under consideration and meets the requirements of the assignment. But students don’t have a right to force a captive audience to participate i
The Establishment Clause speaks to what government may or may not do. It does not apply to the private speech of students. School officials should keep in mind the distinction between government (in this case “school”) speech endorsing religion — which the Establishment Clause prohibits — and private (in this case “student”) speech endorsing religion, which the free speech and free exercise clauses protect.1 Student religious expression may, however, raise Establishment Clause concerns when such expression takes place before a captive audience in a classroom or at a school-sponsored event. Students have the right to pray alone or in groups or to discuss their faith with classmates, as long as they aren’t disruptive or coercive. And they may express their religious views in class assignments or discussions, as long as it is relevant to the subject under consideration and meets the requirements of the assignment.
The Establishment Clause speaks to what government may or may not do. It does not apply to the private speech of students. School officials should keep in mind the distinction between government speech (in this case, the “school”) endorsing religion-which the Establishment Clause prohibits-and private speech (in this case, the “student”) endorsing religion, which the free speech and free exercise clauses protect. Student religious expression may, however, raise Establishment Clause concerns when such expression takes place before a captive audience in a classroom or at a school-sponsored event. Students have the right to pray alone or in groups, or to discuss their faith with classmates, as long as they aren’t disruptive or coercive. They may express their religious views in class assignments or discussions, as long as it is relevant to the subject under consideration and meets the requirements of the assignment.
Related Questions
- If school officials are supposed to be eutral toward religion under the establishment clause, does that mean they should keep religion out of public schools?
- The Establishment Clause The First Amendment says that the government may not "establish" religion. What does that mean in a public school?
- Does the establishment clause apply to students in a public school?
