Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995 TAG: 9502010053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
School systems in Virginia should try to help preserve the religious heritage and pluralism of the United States without resorting to religious indoctrination and proselytizing.
They should prohibit school activities that are designed to inspire religious devotion, but they should not try to banish all religious expression in schools.
So says a report on proposed guidelines for religious activities in schools, prepared for the state Board of Education by the state attorney general's office.
The report recommends that religious activities be treated the same as other extracurriculum activities and that religious groups be treated like other student groups
Student religious groups meeting at school should get equal time if the school system allows students to meet for such activities as chess and scuba clubs, according to the proposed guidelines.
Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the guidelines skirt some issues and try to be too specific on others.
Earlier, the ACLU urged the state attorney general's office to prepare broad principles that could be applied in different cases, Willis said.
"There are subtleties in some situations that have to be considered," he said. "We believe it would be better to let court rulings be the guidelines."
For example, Willis said, a federal judge in Northern Virginia has ruled that student-initiated prayer at a commencement program violates the constitutional principle of church-state separation. He said that until the ruling is overturned, that should be the state's policy.
Lewis Nelson, a member of the state board from Roanoke, said the guidelines do not reach a conclusion on student prayer because there have been several court cases on the issue.
He said the guidelines are preliminary and no action will be taken until several public hearings are held.
"We have not adopted anything at this point. We have just agreed to have public hearings on them," Nelson said. "If we adopt them, it will be up to local school boards to make sure they are enforced.'
The proposed guidelines were praised by a spokeswoman for the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit organization in Charlottesville that specializes in the protection of religious liberties. "It appears that the state Board of Education is doing some positive things to help protect religious freedom," said Colleen Pinyan, mid-Atlantic coordinator.
"They seem to be taking a neutral position and want religion to be treated the same as other activities," she said.
Roanoke School Board Chairman Nelson Harris, a minister, citing a recent complaint that Roanoke schools are going too far in excluding religious history and symbols from the curriculum, said the guidelines would be helpful to school boards.
Roanoke parent-teacher association leaders have said elementary teaches have excluded religious symbols and materials from holiday decorations because they were afraid of violating the separation of church and state.
The PTA leaders complained that the religious heritage and history of their culture was being denied them. They asked the School Board to review the issue and clarify the policy.
Harris said the proposed guidelines will make it easier to make changes.
Under the proposed guidelines, holiday decorations and programs can mix religious music and symbols with secular music and symbols.
The guidelines would also allow the Bible and religious music to be used in comparative religion classes.
Values, ethics and morality can be taught, but not through religious indoctrination, according to the guidelines.
Students could read religious materials during their free time at school. The guidelines say students should be allowed to distribute religious materials during school in accordance with the rules governing the distribution of nonreligious materials.
by CNB