THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508260418
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Trying to defuse the politically volatile issue of school prayer, the Clinton administration has issued detailed guidelines on what kinds of religious activities public schools may permit under current law.
The four-page set of guidelines, prepared earlier this month by the Department of Education, stresses the extent to which student-initiated prayer or proselytizing can be accommodated so long as they are not disruptive, coercive or endorsed or organized by the school or by teachers.
Cast as recommendations for local school boards, the guidelines do not carry the force of law.
Confusion over what is legal in this emotional area has caused many school officials to clamp down on all expressions of faith, providing ammunition for those seeking a constitutional amendment to allow state-sanctioned religious activity in schools. Administration officials say they hope to clear up the confusion. But they acknowledge that they also hope to blunt the drive for a constitutional amendment.
Under the guidelines, students have the right to pray either individually or in informally organized prayer groups as long as they do not cause a disruption. They may also carry and read Bibles or other religious tracts in school, distribute religious literature and proselytize and wear religious clothing, including yarmulkes and head scarves.
But organized prayer in classrooms or assemblies led by students, teachers or school officials is not permitted. Teachers and administrators are not to be allowed to engage in religious activity with students, and students should not be allowed to continue trying to persuade other students to participate in religious activities in the face of a request to stop.
In June, Virginia adopted a set of guidelines for religious expression in schools, placing the state at the forefront of the national debate on religion.
As a result, the federal guidelines issued Friday will serve mainly to complement and reinforce the plan developed by Virginia.
The state received comments from the public and a wide range of groups, including churches, Jewish organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Center for Law and Justice, a legal group founded by Pat Robertson.
James P. Jones, president of the State Board of Education, said copies of Virginia's guidelines were sent to President Clinton, the U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and the U.S. Secretary of Education. He said Friday that he had not seen the federal guidelines, but pointed out that, like the state guidelines, they carry only the power of suggestion.
``There's nothing in federal law or state law that would give anyone other than the federal courts the power to establish binding rules on the constitutionality of religious expression,'' Jones said.
State school Superintendent William C. Bosher Jr. said Friday that the main purpose of the federal guidelines would be to clear up the myths which have made teachers and students hesitant to even discuss religious matters.
``The school should not be used for the teaching of dogma or a faith, but they should also be protected in the matter of free speech, allowing students to express who and what they are, including matters of faith,'' Bosher said.
The release of federal guidelines is unlikely to stop conservatives' call for a ``Religious Equality'' amendment to the Constitution.
The Chesapeake-based Christian Coalition, which made the amendment a major goal of its legislative agenda, the Contract with the American Family, has said it is needed to combat decades of Supreme Court rulings which the coalition considers restrictive toward religious speech.
In an audio conference Wednesday, the coalition's executive director, Ralph Reed, said that he expected a vote on the constitutional amendment ``sometime next spring in at least one of the chambers of Congress.'' Passage of an amendment requires a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate, plus ratification by three-fourths of the states. MEMO: Staff writer Esther Diskin contributed to this report.
by CNB