Equal Access
The First Amendment prescribes government neutrality toward religion.  This means government can neither advantage nor disadvantage activities based upon their religious content.  Again, the critical issue is whether an activity is sponsored by government or whether it is private.  When the Supreme Court upheld the Equal Access Act, which applies to public secondary schools and colleges, it did so noting the "crucial difference between government sPeed1 endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clause protect" Therefore. religious groups and activities should be treated exactly like non- religious groups and activities, If the school has a chess club, It must permit students to form a Bible club, If the school allows community groups to use the auditorium, it must allow religious groups the same privilege
1. EXTRA-CURRICULAR STUDENT ACTIVITIES
QUESTION: The Spiffy Schools Chess Club meets after school every Thursday; the Science Fiction Book Club meets after school on Wednesdays, Charlie, the school janitor, makes sure the rooms are open for the meeting and locked after the meeting concludes Charlie remains on the premises during the meetings to be sure that no emergencies arise A group of students has just started the "Koran Club" devoted to reading devotional passages from that holy book. They ask Principal Strait for permission to meet on Tuesday afternoons.  Should he give permission?
ANSWER: Yes.  The school cannot refuse.  By allowing other extra-curricular activities on school property the school has created a limited open forum. The mere presence of Charlie the janitor does not constitute endorsement or sponsorship.  The school, as government, cannot treat the Koran Club differently merely because its purpose is religious.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION; The Chess Club has a faculty adviser who teaches chess and takes them to tournaments. The Science Fiction Book club has a faculty adviser who leads the discussion and takes them to Star Trek conventions.  The students who have formed the Koran Club want to have a faculty adviser to help teach them about the Koran and take them to a religious convention. They argue that they must be treated ‘just like every other club".  Must the principal arrange for a faculty adviser?
ANSWER: The school may supply a staff member to supervise the Club, but that person may not actively participate.
QUESTION: Sunnydale School District has adopted a policy that only curriculum-related clubs may meet at the school.  Curriculum-related student groups include a French Club, Mathematics Club, and student orchestra.  The rule provides that no other groups may meet on the school premises.  A Bible study class has formed and ask to be allowed to meet on the school grounds Must the school allow the Bible club meeting?
ANSWER: No.  The school has adopted a rule that does not create a limited open forum. That is, the school has adopted a policy that only clubs specifically connected to the curriculum will be allowed to meet on school grounds The school has not "singled out" religious groups for treatment different from others -the rule applies equally to the Chess Club, the Scuba Club and any other non-curriculum related club. Accordingly, the rule is lawful
QUESTION: The East Pasture school system decides to establish a limited open forum and permit. a variety of clubs to meet on school grounds during non-instructional time. It does have a rule, however, that no "non-school person" may attend these meetings Reverend Smith objects, saying that it is unconstitutional to bar him from attending sessions of the after school Bible club.  Must the school board allow him to attend?
ANSWER: No.  The school has a right to make a rule that prohibits non-school attendees. What the school could not do is discriminate among the student groups; that is, it could not pass a rule allowing outsiders to attend non-religious clubs but prohibiting them from attending religious ones
2. USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES BY NON-STUDENTS
QUESTION The town of Tanford has a population of 10,000.  The only large auditorium in town is in the high school.  The school has always let community groups use it after school hours The Girl Scouts, tile League of Women Voters, and the Lockjaw County Nonpertioans have held meetings there.  No fee is charged.  Reverend Steeple asks the principal for permission to use the auditorium for a revival meeting when the Charismatic preacher Jimmy Joyous comes to town.  The principal refuses, because he believes this is an inappropriate use of the facility.  Did he act correctly?
ANSWER: No.  If school facilities are regularly made available to community civic groups, they must be made available to religious groups on the same basis.
TO SUM UP:
1) The equal access rules require that public secondary schools and colleges allow religious clubs and activities to use school facilities on the same basis as other, non-religious activities.
2) If non-curricular (extracurricular) clubs can use school facilities, so can religious ones, but the school may not sponsor those clubs. If the school allows its building to be used by community groups, it cannot refuse access to groups because they are religious.
3) If the schools decide to deny access to all extracurricular and private groups, they may do so.
Holiday Time
Many holidays occur throughout the school year that are directly or indirectly religious: Yom Kippur, Christmas, Ramadan, Good Friday, Mardi Gras, and Halloween to name a few. At such times, schools must make reasonable accommodation for students who wish to observe the holidays. Teachers may take the occasion to teach students about the holiday and its meaning, but must be careful not to endorse or criticize a particular religion.
QUESTION Reindeer Heights Elementary School is preparing to celebrate the winter holiday season. At a faculty meeting, the coach says that he has been reading the headlines in the local papers and is certain that no acknowledgement of the holiday season is appropriate. “We’ll get sued." he warns. "I read that the Supreme Court said that we can’t even discuss the holidays in school." Is the coach right?
ANSWER: No. Although the courts have made no definitive ruling on recognizing religious holidays in the schools, it is probably permissible to use the occasion to provide secular instruction about religious traditions. Teachers may not promote or celebrate the particular religion(s) involved, nor may a school selectively recognize and teach about only those holidays celebrated by a majority of their students, which would be an implied endorsement.
QUESTION: Mr. Lopez teaches social studies. He has a wide variety of religious symbols in his middle school classroom. He uses the Menorah to teach about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah; a Crèche to illustrate what Christians celebrate at Christmas; and he employs a variety of religious symbols sacred to the Islamic and Buddhist traditions among others.  In each case, the symbol is used as an example and aid to teaching about that particular religion’s holidays. A member of the school board, visiting Mr. Lopez’s classroom demands that he remove the symbols because they are illegal. Is he right?
ANSWER: No. The use of religious symbols, provided they are used only as examples of cultural and religious heritage, is permissible, as long as a single religion is not given preferential treatment Teaching about religious holidays is constitutional; celebrating religious holidays is not.
QUESTION: Cornfield High School marks the Christmas holiday each year by presenting a living nativity scene, and "retelling” the Christmas Story.  Only student volunteers are used, and no credit is given to them. Two local parents, who are not Christian, object. They claim the practice violates the First Amendment Are they right?
ANSWER: Yes. A nativity scene is clearly religious in nature, and participation in its creation in this case has only a religious purpose. Erecting Crèches or Menorahs to mark religious holidays -to celebrate those holidays -is not allowed. Christmas trees, Santa Claus and other seasonal but non-devotional symbols are acceptable. In short while recognizing the holiday season, none of the school activities in December should have the purpose) or effect, of promoting or inhibiting religion.
QUESTION: Ms. Cheery’s art class is preparing for a Halloween Party. Each child will create a costume which can then be used for trick or treat. Ms. Cheery gets a call from the mother of Stanley, one of her students. Stanley’s mother explains that she considers Halloween a pagan holiday involving devil-worship that offends her religion and endorses Satanism. She asks that the party be cancelled Must Ms. Cheery cancel the party?
ANSWER: No. The school is not advancing or endorsing Satanism by celebrating Halloween. Whatever the historical origin of the holiday, it has become a secular one in our society.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Stanley’s mother then asks that Stanley be excused from class on Halloween, because the holiday is offensive to their religious beliefs. "Oh that is so silly!" says Ms. Cheery. "He’ll miss all the fun." Stanley’s mother becomes very angry .Who is right?
ANSWER: Stanley’s mother is right. She is asking something very reasonable: for her son to be excused from a Hmited specific event, in order to honor her son’s religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Excusing Stanley from making the costume will not adversely affect his educational development. While there is no Supreme Court case on point, the Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would seem to require excusing Stanley from the Halloween exercise.
QUESTION: Sandy belongs to a small religious sect with numerous holidays. She frequently asks to be excused from class In order to attend religious services. She always turns in makeup work that is assigned, and is an excellent student, but her science teacher marks her down an entire grade for frequent absences. Is this proper?
ANSWER: No. As long as the student is doing the work and the religious absences ~re legitimate, she should not be penalized for honoring the dictates of her conscience.
QUESTION: Ms. Harmony teaches music at Intersection Middle School. The manager of Mega Shopping Mall calls her to ask if the school chorus will come to the Mall on December 1 to sing Christmas Carols. What answer should she give him?
ANSWER: The school chorus may go to the Mall. Ms. Harmony should select a program that includes plenty of non-religious songs like “White Christmas" and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. " She may include traditional religious carols, as long as they do not dominate the program. In this context, the activity is clearly related to the secular commercial aspect of Christmas, not its religious nature. If a similar invitation comes from the Free Methodist Church, however, Ms. Harmony should decline.
TO SUM UP:
1) Schools can teach about religious holidays, but cannot do so selectively and cannot celebrate them.
2) Schools may recognize holidays with appropriate, non-religious symbols and pageants.
3) Schools may not penalize students for absences to attend religious holiday observances.

Distributing Materials
No school is required to permit materials to be distributed by outside groups or individuals on school grounds. The educational mission of the school generally requires that it control what material is given to students, however. if the school decides to allow such distribution of materials, it must also permit religious literature to be handed out. Of course, no school official may be involved in the distribution of religious materials.
QUESTION’ Bobby is a fifth-grade student in the Foggy Valley Schools. One day, he comes home with a new bible, which he explains has been given to each of the children by a nice man who came to Bobby’s class that day. Bobby’s mother inquires and discovers that a group called the Good News Service Corps has handed out Bibles to fifth graders every year for the past twenty years, The teacher explains that it is a gift and that the children may accept the gift or refuse it Distribution occurred during class time and in the presence of the teacher. Bobby’s mother says such a practice violates Bobby’s constitutional rights. Is she correct?
ANSWER: Yes. In a recent case in Rensselaer, Indiana, the court held that the distribution of Gideon Bibles violated the Establishment Clause. Because Bible distribution occurred on the school premises, during school hours, and in the presence of school personnel, it was inevitable that children of  "tender years" would assume that the school was sponsoring the bible distribution and thus endorsing the religion being promoted.
QUESTION: Johnny Gee comes from a family of very active evangelists.  Although he is only 8, Johnny has seen his older siblings and his father hand out religious tracts at various gatherings. One day, he brings a number of tracts from home and, during recess. gives them to other children on the playground. His teacher confiscates the pamphlets and forbids Johnny from passing them out ever again. There is no school policy forbidding the exchange of information among the children, and during recess children have previously exchanged information about little league, birthday parties and up-coming movies, and have exchanged baseball cards and similar memorabilia. Did the teacher act correctly?
ANSWER: No. It is improper for the teacher to interfere with Johnny when the school has permitted other students to exchange written materials. No one could reasonably assume that the distribution was sponsored or endorsed by the school. The activity did not occur during instructional time, and was not supervised or administered by school personnel. It was a voluntary individual act and may not constitutionally be prohibited simply because the content of the material is religious.
QUESTION: Kennedy Elementary School principal John Fitzgerald receives numerous requests from community groups that they be able to announce activities to students. The Cub Scouts, the Children’s Museum, the YMCA Summer Camp, the Youth Soccer League, and the Pirouette Dance Academy have all asked that an information sheet be passed out. Principal Fitzgerald decides to set up an information table and bulletin board in the lobby of the school for the distribution of such literature. A few weeks later, he passes the table, and notices that almost all the literature on it is religious. Should he remove the religious literature?
ANSWER: No. Once he has created a public forum, by allowing some groups to pass out information, he may not restrict literature based solely on its religious content. He may, however, limit the forum to information about specific activities appropriate to young children — leaving announcements for Bible camp and youth prayer meetings, but removing comic books on the life of Jesus or Moses, for example.  All such rule must be generally applicable, however. It may not "target" only religious materials.
TO SUM UP:
1) Public schools may neither sponsor nor endorse religion. Allowing religious organizations to distribute materials on school grounds during the school day amounts to endorsement and is thus unconstitutional.
2) Schools may constitutionally enact a rule prohibiting all student-initiated distribution, or confining students to a particular time, place and manner for such exchanges. Any such rule, however, must be "content neutral." It cannot single out religious materials for treatment different from treatment of other materials.
3) The younger the students, the more impressionable, and the more concerned the Courts will be about the appearance of endorsement by teachers and school administrators.

Teachers’ Religious Freedom
Teachers are in the difficult position of being both private citizens and state actors. As state actors, they must refrain from supporting or endorsing religion. As private citizens, they have the right to freely exercise their religious beliefs. These two principles often conflict in the school setting. In general, during the school day I teachers must refrain from engaging in personal religious activities when they are within view of students.
QUESTION: As we said earlier, Coach Majkowicz supervises third period study hall. He sits at the desk in front of the room to maintain discipline, but otherwise has no teaching responsibilities. Students are free to read or do their homework, and Coach wants to read his Bible during study hall.
ANSWER: As indicated previously, this is a Close question. Most courts have ruled that this would violate the Establishment Clause because from the students’ perspective} Coach Majkowicz is the official school authority in charge of that class. As a state actor, he may not use this position to endorse religion. However, if teachers are generally free to read anything they want, and act only to maintain classroom discipline, then Coach probably may be allowed to read his Bible.
QUESTION: May Coach Majkowicz read his Bible and pray in the Teachers’ Lounge during his own free period?
ANSWER: Of course. In this case, he is "off duty” out of view of the students and may freely exercise his religious beliefs in a non-disruptive way.
QUESTION: Steven Steinberg is a devout Jew who teaches sociology at Hoover High School. The school has a dress code for teachers that specifies that "No visible religious clothing may be worn while teaching." Steinberg has been told that he must stop wearing a yarmulke to class. He asks the principal to reconsider, because such a rule conflicts with his right to freely exercise his religion. Should the principal rescind the rule?
ANSWER: No. The Courts have generally upheld school regulations prohibiting the wearing of religious garb while teaching. Such prohibitions help maintain the school’s neutrality vis-à-vis religion.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Mr. Steinberg is the only devout Jew teaching at Hoover High School. There are few Jewish students in the school, so classes have always been held on Jewish holidays. Steinberg asks to be excused from teaching his classes on the major Jewish holidays. The principal is undecided. Should he allow Steinberg to miss class?

TO SUM UP:
1) Teachers have rights as private citizens. So long as they are acting in that capacity and not as agents of government, the free exercise clause protects their religious activity.
2) When teachers are acting in their official capacity, they are subject to the restrictions that apply to government generally.
3) Schools must make reasonable accommodation to teachers for religious observances.