Schools Reminded of the 'ABCs' of Religious Freedoms of Students, Staff
by Jim Brown
September 14, 2004
(AgapePress) - A civil liberties group has kicked off its annual campaign to educate parents, teachers, and public school officials about the constitutional rights of religious students.The Rutherford Institute has sent a legal memorandum to each of the more than 15,000 public school superintendents across the nation, warning them against censoring student religious expression. The notice, called the "ABCs of the Constitution in the Classroom," is aimed at curbing growing censorship in public schools.
Institute president John Whitehead Whitehead says every year, his group encounters school board officials who are either ignorant of the Constitution or have school board attorneys who are ignorant of the Constitution.
"A lot of the teachers and school officials don't know that Christians and other religious people out there actually have rights to free speech and freedom of religion in the schools," the attorney says. "For example, a student can actually wear a cross [pendant] around his throat. I mean, there have been cases where we've been contacted [in which] school officials say you can't wear a crucifix to school ... or a T-shirt [on T-shirt day] that has a picture of Jesus Christ on it."
In addition to the memorandum informing superintendents about constitutionally protected prayer in elementary and secondary schools, the Institute also has offered to send a free pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution to anyone who requests one. Apparently knowledge of religion-related freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution is not a given, as Whitehead explains.
"We have just numerous cases where students are calling [us about situations in which] they can't pass out tracts in the hall, they're told; or teachers are told they can't have a Bible on their desks. [There are] all kinds of things that are clearly constitutional [that are being prohibited]," the Rutherford spokesman says.
According to Whitehead, the campaign explaining the law and the Constitution has resulted in many schools putting constitutional policies into place. "[T]he ones that don't [make policy changes] are apprised -- and if need be, we'll have to file a lawsuit against them," he adds.
Whitehead says in years past, the "ABCs of the Constitution in the Classroom" campaign has prompted some school officials to call the Rutherford Institute and request further advice.
