Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409260040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The minute of silence doesn't do any harm, Lisa Merrill says, but she wonders if it really does any good. If students are in a comical or jovial mood, the minute might just be wasted.
Merrill has a daughter at Cave Spring Junior High School, where students have a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day for reflection, meditation, prayer or other mental activity.
Merrill, a candidate for the Roanoke County School Board in the Windsor Hills District, thinks the most appropriate place for religious instruction is in the home and church. But she's not ready to advocate that the moment of silence be eliminated, especially during a political campaign, because she knows some voters feel strongly about school prayer.
Because the U.S. Supreme Court has banned organized or school-sponsored prayer, some school systems have turned to a moment of silence or student-initiated prayers. But the legal status of student-initiated prayer remains in doubt, because the Supreme Court has not defined it or ruled on it.
Some people think the moment of silence is the first step in bringing back prayer to the public schools.
Most candidates for the county School Board are cautious on the prayer issue, saying they would be guided by court decisions. Several said the school system should try to avoid lawsuits over the issue.
"My concern is spending money for litigation that could be better spent on education," said Tom Leggette, a candidate in the Windsor Hills District.
Only one candidate, Robert Rouse in the Vinton District, raised the prayer issue in kicking off his campaign. Rouse said he feels strongly that time should be set aside in schools each day for a moment of nondirected silent prayer. "Let students say a silent prayer based on the religious beliefs of their family, or sit silently while others observe the moment," he said.
Despite his deep feelings about prayer, Rouse said he is not affiliated with either the religious right or the Christian Coalition.
The coalition, which was founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson of Virginia Beach, has been in the forefront of efforts to return prayer to public schools. It has supported school board candidates in some localities, including Virginia Beach, where its candidates were defeated.
None of the seven candidates in Roanoke County - four in Windsor Hills and three in Vinton - is linked with the Christian Coalition. And none advocates audible prayer that is arranged or sponsored by teachers or administrators.
"Each child has the right to pray silently so long as they don't interfere with others or pray audibly," Leggette said. He doesn't want the county to enact a policy that would generate lawsuits.
Wayne Newman, a candidate in Windsor Hills, said students should decide when and where they want to pray. "Nothing should be forced on them. I think it is a decision for them to make."
Roanoke County has no policy or guidelines for prayer. Each school is allowed to develop its own rules as long as they comply with federal and state law.
Assistant Superintendent James Gallion said some schools observe a moment of silence, but he didn't know how many.
Michael Stovall, a candidate in the Vinton District, said he supports the moment of silence, although some people think that's a way to get around the Supreme Court's ban on school-sponsored prayer.
"I think that we need to clear up the legal ramifications and see what we can do," Stovall said. "I'd like to see a survey done to see what people think about it."
Unless the legal confusion about school prayer is cleared up, Stovall said school administrators and students won't know what they can do.
"I have no problem with a moment of meditation or silence," said Evelyn Ball, a candidate in the Vinton District. She said she thinks the school system should avoid any risky policy that might invite a challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The state Department of Education is drafting guidelines for prayer that are designed to prevent controversy and court fights. The ACLU has threatened to challenge the guidelines if, in its opinion, they promote prayer in school.
Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU in Virginia, said the state already has a law on a moment of silence in schools and there is no need for more guidelines.
The law is designed to prevent pressure on students to engage in or refrain from religious observation on school grounds.
To achieve this, the school board in each locality is authorized to establish the daily observance of one minute of silence in each classroom, during which the teacher must ensure that "all pupils remain seated and silent and make no distracting display."
During the silence, the law says, "each pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract or impede other pupils in the like exercise of individual choice."
Willis said some legislators want to bring prayer back into the schools. He said the debate in the legislature on two new bills showed that intent.
One law said students may voluntarily engage in student-initiated prayer. The other directed the state Board of Education to develop prayer guidelines.
Willis said some federal courts have ruled that school prayers are unconstitutional if school administrators and teachers work behind the scenes to help organize student prayers. If school officials are involved, he said, the prayers are no longer student-led.
by CNB