"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Dear Principal:

For many years one of the most sensitive and controversial matters that has divided Americans when it comes to public education has been the issue of religion in public schools.

Many Americans, unfortunately, came to believe that the 1962 Supreme Court decision disallowing state-sponsored school prayer meant no religious expression at all was permitted. They were mistaken, but little was done to fully inform concerned parents that the 1962 Supreme Court ruling did not preclude individual students, in their personal capacity, from expressing their religious faith. As a result, a great misunderstanding grew up over time and the issue of prayer and religious expression in public schools became increasingly divisive and polarizing.

In the last few years, new and promising efforts have been made to end this division about the proper place of religion in our nation's public schools. Educators, religious leaders of many faiths, and civil libertarians have worked together to review Supreme Court and other court decisions. In the process, these dedicated Americans have come to a new and deeper understanding of the proper place of religion in America's system of public education.

Leaders on both sides of this debate have lowered their voices, retreated from the polarizing language of the last three decades, and worked diligently together to find a new common ground. This effort is in the best tradition of our nation's Founding Fathers and reflects a wonderful respect for the basic idea that is America — that we are free people who protect our freedoms by respecting the freedoms of others who differ from us.

These educators, religious leaders, and civil libertarians see our nation's Bill of Rights as something more than a piece of dry, old parchment on display in our National Archives. They recognize that each generation must do its part to explain fully how the First Amendment protects the rights of students to express their religious faith and/or their freedom of conscience.

It is in that spirit that I am sending you a set of guidelines that you can use to inform students, parents, teachers, and other members of the community about the proper way to treat religion and religious topics in our nation's public schools. The guidelines cover a broad range of topics from how to teach about religion to how to properly develop partnerships with community-based groups, including faith-based organizations, as part of a broad effort to improve education in our public schools.

The guidelines clearly indicate that the religious rights of students and their right to freedom of conscience do not stop at the schoolhouse door. President Clinton may have said it best:

"For more than 200 years, the First Amendment has protected our religious freedoms and allowed many faiths to flourish in our homes, in our work place and in our schools. Clearly understood and sensibly applied, it works."

The essence of all of these guidelines is the balanced nature of the First Amendment regarding religious expression that is rooted in two basic and equally important principles. First, schools must protect the right of individual students, in their personal capacity, to express their religious faith, or to speak about religious matters, to the same extent they are permitted to engage in nonreligious expression, or to speak about nonreligious topics.

Second, schools must refrain from government-sponsored religious activities, and from adopting or expressing any preference for or against religious expression by students speaking in their personal capacity.

Teachers, principals, and others in authority in a school must give students the same right in their personal capacity to engage in religious activity and discussion, as they have to engage in any other comparable activity. For example, students may read their Bible or other scriptures, say grace before meals, or pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable, nondisruptive activities.

At the same time, school officials may not endorse or favor religious activity or doctrine, coerce participation in religious activity, or seek to impose their religious beliefs on impressionable children. Public schools may teach about religion — for example, in classes on history, music, the arts, or comparative religion, the Bible (or other scripture)-as-literature, the role of religion in history — but public schools may not provide religious instruction.

In protecting students from government-sponsored prayer, the First Amendment also shields students of all faiths from any effort by a majority faith to define how religion should be expressed in a public school. The right to engage in personal voluntary prayer or religious discussion free from discrimination does not include the right to have a captive audience listen, or to compel other students to participate. We are a nation of many religious faiths and we must be vigilant in protecting the right of all students to express their religious faith in their own way, in addition to expressing their freedom of conscience not to participate in religious activities.

Some have suggested that the federal government has been an enemy of religion. I believe otherwise. I know that President Clinton and Vice President Gore have gone out of their way to encourage the growing effort to find a new common ground regarding religious expression in our nation's public schools. I am pleased to be part of this effort as well.

After more than 30 years of division on this most sensitive of subjects, I believe we are finding a positive way to bring people together and that's good for education. I hope public officials, at all levels of government, will support this growing effort to find common ground and retreat from the polarizing language of the past. Our public schools should not be the public space for a war on values but the public space where we educate our children, help them to build good character, and teach them about the many freedoms, including the freedom of religion, that are embodied in our nation's Constitution.

All of the documents in this packet are freely available from either the U.S. Department of Education or the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. The full text of all of these publications is available through the U.S. Department of Education's Web site (www.ed.gov). I encourage you to read these documents carefully and make them available to teachers, other staff, parents and students. Thank you for your cooperation.

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