I do see murkiness in this ruling...at what point does the invocation become "student-led " and when is an invocation sanctioned by the administration?  Does it become sanctioned when a group of students get down on a knee to say a prayer before a game?  If it wasn't sanctioned or approve by the coach (administration), it would be stopped.  And if the coach chooses to pray with them, is that not sanctioning? 

What about the valedictorian who wishes to address her belief that God has been a force in her life?  Where does her free speech right end and the separation of church and state begin.  If hers a "captive" audience that may include those who feel marginalized because they don't share her belief in her God or maybe any God?

While the Supreme Court's ruling does not specifically exclude religious reference in school activities, it does in fact produce that policy.  No school wants to go use their resources to go up against the well-funded ACLU lawsuit when they can just eliminate the public references to God and have one less litigation worry.  Even the poor ACLU can't make up its mind on this one supporting cases on both sides of this issue.

www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-08-27-god-talk_x.htm

When the Supreme Court rules or legislation is passed where all reference to God is removed from every government entity from local to federal, then there wil be a clear cut separation of church and state.  This would include everything from currency, to legislative chaplains, to the abolition of "Christian religious observances" being used as federal holidays. 

That consistency would not please me by any means because, as Thoreau said, "Foolish consistency is the hobgobln of little minds."

WK

I believe that the law passed by the Texas Lege is murky in the regard you speak of. (HB 3678) I've read articles before that school districts are trying to figure out how to implement the law to avoid lawsuits. I think one keyword here is whether the participation is *voluntary*-it seems like a coach getting everyone together before a game to pray would not be voluntary even if it were said to be.

Here's a reference from Texas Education code

The Texas Education Code, § 25.901 reads:

“A public school student has an absolute right to individually, voluntarily, and silently pray or meditate in school in a manner that does not disrupt the instructional or other activities of the school.
A person may not require, encourage, or coerce a student to engage in or refrain from such prayer or meditation during any school activity.

From an article in the Houston Chronicle.

The House voted 110-33 for the "Schoolchildren's Religious Liberties Act." The legislation will head to the Senate for consideration after a final House vote today.

If the Senate approves it, student leaders will be allowed to summon Jesus Christ in prayer to help calm student nerves before a TAKS test, Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, said of the hypothetical situation before voting against the measure.

Or, a student leader can call on Allah if he or she is a Muslim, said Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. Or, a student leader can tell other students that it's sacrilegious to pray to Jesus for comfort because "Jesus was not the son of God, Jesus was not the messiah," Hochberg told his colleagues, noting some discomfort in their facial reactions.

"And yet this is the serious religious viewpoint of a lot of people in this state, a lot of students in this state," said Hochberg, who is Jewish.

The legislation would require school districts to develop a neutral method for selecting students to speak at school events, and the policy could not discriminate against a student's religious expression.

A student who invokes Allah or who expresses a religious belief that disavows the mainstream Christian perspective "will throw communities into turmoil," Hochberg said.

Apparently Howard is an attorney who makes at least part of his living suing school districts.

Incidentally, the man who raised a lawsuit against the *Under God* in the pledge and *In God we Trust* in money's suit was rejected by the Supreme Court a few years back because he didn't have *standing*  because of not having custody of his daughter. His lawsuit again is wending its way through the courts.

There's also a lawsuit against the inclusion of God in the Texas Pledge in process.

The Crofts announced earlier this month they were suing Gov. Rick Perry, as a representative of the state, over the pledge on the same day arguments were held over their separate lawsuit against the state's minute of silence law. 

In each case, the Crofts argue that actions by legislators are unconstitutional and amount to violations of separation of church and state. They argued legislators sought to reintroduce prayer in schools by mandating the moment of silence in 2003. The law gives children the option to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activity" during that minute.

In Texas, schoolchildren recite the U.S. pledge and the Texas pledge and then observe a minute of silence each morning before classes.

The lawsuit challenging the moment of silence is before U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn. She has not yet issued a ruling.

Does a principal wearing a cross lapel pin or necklace constitute an endorsement of Christianity?  Does a Native America student have the right to keep his braids as a part of his religious value system when the school has a dress code that prohibits long hair on boys?  And why do state-adopted textbooks have excerpts from the KJV of the Bible? 

The locally elected school board is the closest thing that most voters have to being able to effect policy in their life.  Yet these elections draw less than 25% of the registered vote.  And so most of the decisions are being made by a minority of the population. 

Federal control of local schools is becoming a greater and greater reality.  As for me, I think that the people in a district should have much greater control over what is being mandated for their students not less.  The Constitution does not speak to issues of education, so by default they are the venue of the states and local governments.  More and more the federal government continues to encroach (through federal funds) into areas it was not designed to control.  And with it comes more and more "interpretation" of laws that never were.

WK

I don't think anyone is forbidden to wear a symbol of their religion.Do you know of someone specifically in the GRISD district that has been told he or she couldn't?  In fact, there's a court case, Tinker vs Des Moines ISD that said.

Students have a right to free expression inside public schools  as long as it does not interfere with school activities, thus allowing students to pass out fliers about religious events, wear religious symbols and pray in groups outside of class.

I would assume there are exceptions to dress code. I have a cousin who didn't want to wear the school uniform, in one of the districts in Texas, and successfully challenged the school board to be an exception. To me the question would be, would a Jew, for example, be able to wear a Yamaka? Or a Muslim a veil? When I was in school, you couldn't wear hats, not because of any religious reason but because the schools were afraid of spreading head lice.

There are also laws on the books about teaching the Bible as history. I assume any biblical references probably are in that context.  If not, and the texts are promoting particular religious beliefts, they're probably subject to the same type of lawsuit Ector County (Odessa)  ISD has against them.

"Religion is very important in my family and we are very involved in our religious community. But the public schools are no place for religious indoctrination that promotes certain beliefs that not all the kids in the school share," Doug Hildebrand, a Presbyterian deacon who is among the plaintiffs, said in a written statement released by the ACLU.

I notice it's a Christian, a Presbyterian, that is part of bringing this lawsuit.

The Ector school board approved the high school elective in 2005. It teaches the King James version of the sacred text using material produced by the Greensboro, N.C.-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and uses the Bible as the students' textbook.

I'm with you on participation in the school board meetings. I went to the first one ever last month and there were only a handful of people attending. I kind of thought it might be crowded and stuffed with concerned parents who would like to hear reports on what and how the ISD is doing, but nope.

We are a nation of laws-I don't believe there would be a need for laws if people had common respect and consideration for others-that doesn't happen, and so there is a need to interpret laws as situations arise. That's just the way it is. And the constitution trumps state law.