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Rutherford Institute commends Bush Administration, Dept. of Education on new guidelines for religious exercise in public schools

Charlottesville, Va.--The Rutherford Institute commends the Bush Administration and the U.S Department of Education on their recently issued guidelines for religious exercise in public schools. Titled "Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools," the guidelines, released Feb. 7, 2003, clarify the rights of religious expression of public school students and teachers and reaffirm religious freedom in the public schools. The guidelines also make federal funding contingent on a school's compliance with them, which, according to John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, is an important step in the effort to defend religious freedom in the public schools.

The new guidelines, which are in accordance with rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, closely resemble guidelines put forth by the Clinton Administration in 1995. They touch on everything from prayer during noninstructional time and organized prayer groups to moments of silence, prayer during instructional time, and religious expression and prayer in class assignments. However, according to Institute legal staff, the new guidelines differ in one important respect from those issued by the Clinton Administration in that they don't merely request compliance, they demand it. In fact, schools must certify by March 15, 2003, that they have no policy prohibiting constitutionally protected prayer or religious expression as defined in the guidelines. Schools that fail to submit the certification risk losing their federal funding. Institute attorneys are hopeful that the enforcement mechanism included in the new guidelines will encourage school officials to fully value and protect the religious freedom of students and teachers. In the past, schools often chose to err on the side of restricting religious expression in order to avoid even the possibility of a lawsuit by anti-religious groups. For example, many schools chose to suppress or even punish student distribution of religious literature. That was the case for Daniel Gault, a California high school junior who was disciplined for distributing tickets to a church drama. Under the new guidelines, not only would students like Daniel have the right to distribute religious materials, but schools that deny those rights would jeopardize their federal funding. The guidelines also provide greater freedom for student graduation speakers like Nick Lassonde, a high school senior and salutatorian whose graduation address was censored by school officials because of its religious content. Rutherford Institute attorneys recently argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in defense of his right to give his uncensored address.

"For too long, school officials have sacrificed students' and teachers' religious freedom out of a desire to avoid controversy," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The new guidelines may finally force schools to fully respect students' and teachers' First Amendment rights."

The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.


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