This Comment seeks to dispel the confusion surrounding student-initiated religious expression. There is no bright legal line that can be drawn between permissible and impermissible student religious expression in a classroom assignment or at a school-sponsored event. Sch. Because the student had graduated by the time the Supreme Court granted his appeal, the Supreme Court ordered the lower court to vacate its ruling and dismiss the case. Drawing on two recent Supreme Court cases, Board of Education v Mergens' and Lee v • Rights of the other students: Students have a right to be free from school-sponsored actions that endorse religion. Facts A New York State law required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God. The teacher instructs students in biology and anatomy. In another instance of conflict, some student religious groups want the right to exclude students who do not share the groups’ beliefs, specifically on questions of sexuality. In a federal district court case, the court upheld a classroom teacher’s decision to permit a Dist. The law allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found it objectionable. Court precedent, but fails to identify the free speech problem posed by the facts of the case and creates an unlimited discre-tion for teachers to restrict student speech. In recent lower court decisions, judges have deferred to the judgment of educators to determine where … Santa Fe Indep. Result: The Court ruled that the bill was in fact constitutionally permissible because the reimbursements paid to parents (not the religious institution) and were offered to all students regardless of religion. Public school students enjoy First Amendment protection depending on the type of expression and their age. Court's various rulings on religion in public schools, rather than bringing order to the area, have only added confusion to the controversy. Backgrounds Concerning the Case. 2. About These Resources The First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Learn more about these clauses in First Amendment and religion. In denying review, the Supreme Court missed the opportu- Build arguments for both sides, starting with these talking points. A case in which the Court found that a woman employed by a religious school who taught daily religion classes, was a commissioned minister, and regularly lead students in prayer and worship, did not have grounds to sue the school under the Ministerial Exception. Analyze the facts and case summary for Engel v. Vitale. Had the Supreme Court reviewed Settle, the Court could have clarified the analy-sis to be used in such cases. Related Articles: Joseph Laycock. The Supreme Court clarified in Tinker v.Des Moines Independent Community School District that public students do not “shed” their First Amendment rights “at the schoolhouse gate.”. The school district demanded that the teacher take these items down. In the 1960s’ school prayer cases (that prompt-ed rulings against state-sponsored school prayer and Bible ... facts about religion can give students the false impres- ... As the Supreme Court has made clear, study about religion in public schools is constitutional. Inclusion of study about religion is important in The case in question began after a high school student alerted the Freedom From Religion Foundation to a biblical poster and a drawing of three crosses in the teacher’s classroom. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000). The teacher take these items down the First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion the! In such cases both sides, starting with these talking points that endorse religion teacher take these down... 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