Scriptures in Schools Week—Christian Students' Rights
"The only people keeping Bibles out of America's public schools are? us Christians!"
(Albany, OR)?Christian students may or may not know that this week is the 10th annual "Scriptures in Schools" week (SIS), when young people in public schools across America are encouraged to bring their Bibles to school each day.
The week also ties in with "See You at the Pole" on Wednesday; a time for students everywhere?it has become an international event?to gather at their schools' flagpole to pray.
In U.S. public schools, students have the right to bring their Bible to school, pray and even to share their faith with other students. Some excerpts from a list of students' religious rights are listed below.
Student prayer and religious discussion: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not prohibit purely private religious speech by students. Students therefore have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. For example, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable nondisruptive activities...
Generally, students may pray in a nondisruptive manner when not engaged in school activities or instruction, and subject to the rules that normally pertain in the applicable setting. Specifically, students in informal settings, such as cafeterias and hallways, may pray and discuss their religious views with each other, subject to the same rules of order as apply to other student activities and speech. Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics just as they do with regard to political topics...
Students may also participate in before or after school events with religious content, such as "see you at the flag pole" gatherings, on the same terms as they may participate in other noncurriculum activities on school premises. School officials may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event...
To read the full list of students' religious rights, CLICK HERE.
