"Public schools can neither foster religion nor preclude it. Our public schools must treat religion with fairness and respect and vigorously protect religious expression as well as the freedom of conscience of all other students. In so doing our public schools reaffirm the First Amendment and enrich the lives of their students."

Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley
(U.S. Department of Education, 1999)

Over the past few decades, one of the more sensitive and confusing issues in American public education has been the role of religion in public schools. In an effort to end the confusion over the legal implications of public schools collaborating with local faith communities, Attorney General Janet Reno and Secretary of Education Richard Riley collaborated under the direction of President Clinton to issue guidelines for the expression of religion in public schools.

To clarify how the guidelines might be implemented in local communities and schools, the Department of Education (1999) developed the Religion and Public Schools Kit. The kit contains a publication that gives an overview of the First Amendment, some individual guides for parents, teachers, and volunteers, and some examples of promising programs that have been developed through successful partnerships between schools and faith communities. The guide for parents outlines frequent concerns about the subject of religious expression in school, including the following:

* Ways to find common ground to address religion in schools issues
* How students may express their faith while in school
* Prayer while in public schools
* Religious holidays in the public school setting
* Religious clubs in public schools

One successful example of collaboration between public schools and faith communities has been the school district of St. Petersburg, Florida. Racial unrest within the community forced everyone in the district to recognize that local young people had minimal opportunities for positive after-school activities and needed much more attention and monitoring. A group of local ministers and members of the lay faith communities collaborated with other community representatives and approached the school board with their ideas to develop safe after-school and summer programs for young people. From this beginning, many youth have been served through the Urban Fellowship Mentoring, Tutoring, and Enrichment Program, which has offered a growing variety of enrichment activities for young people.

Because it is important that parents are fully informed about school policies on issues of religion and religious practice, they must communicate with school officials and community members to determine what works for each community.

For more information

Religion and public schools
http://www.ed.gov/inits/religionandschools/

A parents guide to religion in the public schools
http://www.fac.org/publicat/parents/parents.htm
[NPIN Editor's Note (8-14-03): this url has changed: http://www.fac.org/about.aspx?id=6253]

Sources

U.S. Department of Education. (1999). Religion and public schools. [Online]. Available: http://www.ed.gov/inits/religionandschools/ [Access date: 2000, September 26].

U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Faith communities partner with public schools to help children learn. Community Update, 74(2).