“CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN”
A Look at the “December Dilemma” and
Beyond:
The Role of Religion in Public Schools
OSBA School Law Conference
Camellia Osterink, Beaverton SD
Jollee Patterson, Portland SD
Which headline do you want?
• “School bans Christmas!!!!”
• “Students wash feet in school sinks!!!!!”
• “Kindergartners make ‘Happy Birthday Jesus’
cards in school!!”
• School celebrates pagan holidays!!!”
WHAT’S A SCHOOL TO DO???
It all starts with the First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof.”
Schools cannot endorse or promote religion.
Schools cannot inhibit the free exercise of
religion by students or staff. How do schools
navigate these waters?
The Lemon Test
In Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court
established a three-part test to determine whether
government engagement in religion is permissible.
403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Is there a legitimate, non-secular purpose for the
activity?
• Does the primary effect of the activity neither
advance nor hinder religious belief or practice?
• Does the activity foster excessive government
entanglement with religion?
Holiday parties
• Classroom parties during the holidays must have a secular
focus.
– Teachers should avoid displaying only those secular
themes that are associated with Christmas.
• Christmas trees and Santa Claus are considered secular
symbols, but a non-Christian student may be
uncomfortable during a classroom party that includes
only these types of symbols.
• Classroom parties should be limited in duration
• If the party includes a craft project, students can voluntarily
include religious symbols as an expression of their religious
faith, but cannot be required to do so.
Holiday concerts
• Holiday concerts should focus on non-secular
songs, and can include music from a variety of
cultural and religious traditions. The program
should not focus only on Christmas-related
selections.
• Similarly, student theatrical performances related
to the holidays should be secular in nature, and
should not focus on overtly religious themes.
– For instance, students could dress up as
snowmen, but it would not be appropriate for
students to reenact the Nativity scene.
Holiday Displays
• Limited secular displays in the public areas of the school are
acceptable. This includes Christmas trees, Santa Claus and
“Seasons Greetings” banners.
– Keep in mind the diversity of your community in deciding
whether secular display are appropriate
• Displaying religious symbols of one particular faith is not
acceptable. For instance, it would not be appropriate to just
display a nativity scene or a menorah.
• As part of teaching about different religions, it is acceptable to
have a temporary display of multiple religious symbols. The
display should include the educational context for the
religious symbols.
Student Prayer
• Students have the right to pray during the school day. Their
prayer must be done in accordance with neutral school rules
and must not be disruptive to the educational process.
– For instance, students cannot decide that they have to
pray at 10:10 every day for 40 minutes , and thus miss
science class.
• School may make reasonable accommodations for prayer.
– Washing feet
– Release time
• School officials (administrators, teachers) cannot lead
students in prayer.
Rights of staff
• Schools must make “reasonable
accommodations” to support employee’s
religious expression.
• This may include allowing teachers to take
personal days for religious holidays.
• Teachers do not have a right to express their
own religious view in class, and, in fact, must
refrain from doing so so as to not “promote”
religion.
Sioux Falls SD Policy
• “It is accepted that no religious belief or
nonbelief should be promoted by the school
district or its employees, and none should be
disparaged. Instead, the school district should
encourage all students and staff members to
appreciate and be tolerant of each other’s
religious views … In that spirit of tolerance,
students and staff members should be excused
from participating in practices which are contrary
to their religious beliefs unless there are clear
issues of overriding concern that would prevent
it.”
Bottom line: What can’t schools do?
• Schools cannot endorse any specific religion.
Schools cannot teach about just one religion or
have a specific religion emphasized throughout
the school, classrooms and curriculum.
• Schools cannot display overtly religious symbols
(i.e.: the Nativity scene) without also including
other religious symbols.
• Schools cannot prohibit students from
expressing their religious beliefs, but displays
must follow neutral school rules.
Bottom line: What must schools do?
• Schools must allow students to express their religious
beliefs in classroom assignments, but cannot be
required to do so.
– For instance, if a student chooses to include a religious
theme in a writing or art project, they must be allowed
to do so as long as it falls within the neutral guidelines of
the assignment.
• Schools must grant requests to excuse students from
secular events that conflict with their religious beliefs,
such as Halloween or Valentine parties.
Bottom line: What can schools do?
• Schools can teach about religions and religious holidays.
– Such teaching should include diverse religions and religious holidays, and
should not focus just on Christian holidays. Invite students to share their
own holiday celebrations.
• Schools may provide reasonable accommodations for students so they can
abide by their religious traditions.
– Student prayer during the school day.
– Washing feet/excuse from PE during Ramadan
– Permitting excused absences for religious holidays
• Schools can reduce or eliminate holiday recognitions.
– Schools are not required to have Halloween parades, Valentines day
parties, etc.