Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 24, 1995 TAG: 9504240074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The devotions have become known as "meet me at the pole" events. School officials usually do not try to prohibit them because they occur during the students' free time and outside the classroom. They are not considered to be school-sponsored religious activities that would violate Supreme Court rulings on the separation of church and state.
School officials are right in allowing the students to conduct the devotions without interference, according to the state's proposed guidelines on religious activities in schools.
The newly drafted guidelines state that student-initiated, nondisruptive devotional activities during free time should be permitted.
But the guidelines say teachers and school officials should not participate in these events because that might give the appearance of school sponsorship.
That has upset some ministers, parents and students. They say teachers should have the same rights as students during their free time.
The Rev. J. Allie McNider, minister to students at First Baptist Church in Roanoke, said he sees no difference between a teacher attending a student-initiated religious event outside the school day and a piano recital or school sports event.
At a recent public hearing on the guidelines, a speaker said the state is trying to promote "secular humanism" among teachers by prohibiting them from participating in such activities.
Despite others' concerns, most teachers appear to support the guidelines and do not object to the ban on participation in student-initiated religious activities.
"This is not a burning issue" with teachers, said Rob Jones, president of the 52,000-member Virginia Education Association, the state teachers' organization.
"I was, quite frankly, pleased with the guidelines, although I had concerns on a couple of points."
Jones said he had feared the guidelines might bring more religious activities into schools and force teachers to become involved in promoting religion, especially since he said some members of the state Board of Education want prayer in the schools.
"I feared that if Virginia led the charge to have teachers leading prayer, we would have a lot of unhappy [VEA] members," he said.
The guidelines were drafted by the state Department of Education and Attorney General Jim Gilmore at the direction of the General Assembly. They are designed to provide assistance for school systems but are not mandatory.
Jones said he can understand why some believe teachers should be allowed to participate in student devotions during their free time. But he said the courts have ruled that teachers are agents of the state and schools as long as they are on school grounds.
Mercedes James, president of the Roanoke Education Association, said she has heard no complaints from teachers about the guidelines. In fact, she said, she has heard little talk about them.
Kitty Boitnott, librarian at Penn Forest Elementary School in Roanoke County, said teachers might send the wrong message to students by participating in student prayer and devotions.
If the devotions are Christian, she said, a Jewish student might believe the teacher is endorsing Christianity.
"Consider how the Jewish student would feel. There is a fine line to be followed, and you could send messages that might be very impressionable," Boitnott said.
Gary Waldo, executive director of the Roanoke Education Association, said the guidelines seem balanced and reasonable. He has not heard any substantial opposition from teachers.
Like Boitnott, Waldo fears that teacher participation in devotions might alienate some students because the devotions are likely to be Christian.
As public employees, the rights of teachers are not absolute, according to the religious guidelines. Their rights must be balanced against the school's right and duty to maintain order, perform its obligations to students and avoid government sponsorship of religion.
The guidelines for teachers include the following:
Generally, teachers don't have an unqualified right to engage in religious expression with students at school. The circumstances will determine whether such discussion is taking place in a private capacity, without attempt to indoctrinate. But such discussion with students in the classroom is fraught with peril if the teacher endorses religion or creates the appearance of government sponsorship of religion.
Teachers should not engage students in devotional activities in classrooms or during school-sponsored events. A teacher or school official also may not ask or designate a student volunteer to lead the class in a devotional exercise.
Teachers should be able to meet with each other for prayer, meditation and reading of religious materials during their free time, such as immediately before or after class or during breaks or lunch.
A teacher may respond honestly, in a noncoercive and nonindoctrinating manner, to students' inquiries about religion, just as a teacher may respond to inquiries about political, philosophical or other secular interests. Balance, degree and fairness are important considerations.
Boitnott said the guidelines are reasonable because teachers need to be careful that they do not give the impression that the school endorses religion.
"If a student asks a question, a teacher can answer it, but the teacher should not try to indoctrinate," she said.
James said teachers should be cautious in dealing with religious issues when they are on the job. "As long as we are acting in our public position, it is in everyone's best interest to do what the law requires," she said.
For the most part, Jones said, teachers believe that prayer and religious activities are most appropriate for the church and home, even though many have deep religious beliefs.
The notion that teachers are mostly secular humanists is inaccurate, he said. A recent survey by the VEA showed that 87 percent of its members attend church or synagogue frequently, he said.
It was not teachers who pushed the litigation that eliminated most forms of religious expression from schools, he said.
Jones said he has concerns about a guideline that allows students to distribute religious materials during school on the same basis as nonreligious material. He fears that will open the door for the distribution of advertisements and promotional brochures.
The guidelines prohibit teachers from discriminating against students who prefer a religious theme over a secular one in their assignments. Students have a right to express their religious values in their assignments and class work, and their grades must never be affected when they do so, according to the guidelines.
Comparative religion may be studied in school, but the guidelines say it must be presented objectively as part of a secular program of education.
If the school offers a course specifically studying the Bible or other religious texts as literature, it must be balanced and objective, without any attempt to indoctrinate. And teachers for the course should be assigned using objective standards, without any religious test.
The Board of Education, which has held five hearings statewide, will review the guidelines before acting on them, possibly by July 1.
by CNB