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Students’ Complete Guide to Religious Rights in Public School
speak for a certain amount of time, and the students have control over the content of their speeches, then the school cannot discriminate against students who wish to incorporate religious speech, including prayer, in their addresses. Please note, however, that a few courts have deviated from this generally accepted rule regarding the permissibility of religious content in graduation speeches. In one case, the Ninth Circuit (which includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) determined that when school officials exercise complete control over a graduation ceremony, including student speech, that the school officials may remove proselytizing and sectarian language from a student’s graduation speech. The court determined that an objective observer would perceive the speech to be approved and endorsed by the school, and, therefore, the school could remove the proselytizing comments to avoid an Establishment Clause violation.[23] The Ninth Circuit, however, in a different case did not require school officials to eliminate all references to God in a student’s graduation speech. After removing the proselytizing comments, the student was allowed to make[24] “references to God as they related to [the student’s] own beliefs.”[25] The student also distributed unedited copies of his graduation speech just outside of the graduation site, and at graduation, the student announced the time and place where he would deliver the unedited version of his speech.[26] The Eleventh Circuit (which includes Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) upheld a school district’s policy that permitted “graduating students to decide through a vote whether to have an unrestricted student graduation message at the beginning and/or closing of graduation ceremonies.”[27] The policy did not refer to any religious speech. If the students voted to have a classmate deliver a speech, the classmate’s speech would not be reviewed or edited by school officials; therefore, the speech was private student speech, and the message was allowed regardless of the religious content.[28]
religious belief. A federal court held that a public school is allowed to celebrate Christmas (and other holidays with both religious and secular aspects) because doing so serves the educational goal of advancing students’ knowledge and appreciation of the role that America’s religious heritage has played in the social, cultural, and historical development of civilization. While public schools may celebrate Christmas, they do not have to; “holiday parties” are legally acceptable as well.[30] Additionally, a school district may include the temporary use of religious decorations and symbols to demonstrate the cultural and religious heritage of the religious holiday. In this way, the decorations and symbols are a teaching aid and resource, and not part of a religious exercise. [31] In a different context, the Supreme Court allowed the display of a Nativity scene, which depicts the historical origins of the Christmas holiday, when the religious display was next to many secular symbols, including Santa Claus, a reindeer, lights, candy-striped poles, carolers, and a teddy bear.[32] Public schools can likewise include religious music, art, or drama in a school play or performance, so long as the religious music, art, or drama is presented in an objective manner as a traditional part of the cultural and religious heritage of the holiday. In fact, a federal court has held that to allow students only to study and not to participate in religious art, literature, and music, when such works have developed an independent secular and artistic significance, would give students a truncated view of our culture. [33] Federal courts have also affirmed that choirs can sing both religious and secular songs, as long as the religious songs are not part of a religious exercise. One court stated that if the music curriculum is designed to cover the full array of vocal music, the inclusion of religious songs is to be expected. Another court, recognizing that most choral music is religious, stated that preventing public schools from including religious songs would demonstrate an unlawful animosity toward religion. [34] As it relates to religious gifts, like Christmas gifts, with religious messages at school parties, if students are allowed to distribute gifts at a school party, then the students are allowed
Religious Holidays in Public Schools
Public schools can celebrate and teach about religious holidays, such as Christmas, so long as the school is not celebrating the holiday for the purpose of furthering a certain
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