THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270076
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
As a national debate swirls over prayer in public schools, Virginia officials quietly have begun shaping guidelines to allow student prayer but keep schools from running afoul of civil libertarians.
It will require tiptoeing through a legal minefield, the state Attorney General's Office acknowledges.
And it could prove divisive: Witness the outcry since Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., the soon-to-be House speaker, pledged to seek a constitutional amendment permitting school prayer. Some members within his own party don't want to touch the political hot potato.
Virginia officials say the state will have to walk a fine constitutional line: To protect a student's right of religious freedom and uphold the separation of church and state.
The key, state Deputy Attorney General William H. Hurd, will be to develop guidelines that are neutral toward religion.
``For the public schools to be `neutral' can be a daunting task because it requires teachers and administrators to navigate a careful, middle course between two opposing shoals of unconstitutionality,'' Hurd wrote in a letter Nov. 17 to the state Board of Education, whose nine members were directed by the General Assembly to develop the standards.
``Our public school officials should understand, for instance, that while teachers may not begin classes by reciting a prayer, neither may they prohibit students from reading the Bible on the bus or from gathering together in their free time to offer prayer on their own,'' Hurd wrote.
``To the extent the guidelines serve to promote true neutrality, not hostility toward religion, we will do our citizens a great service.''
The guidelines will address such issues as the use of school facilities, equipment and class time for prayer and other religious expression. They also will outline the role of school boards, school administrators, teachers and students.
Hurd said the Attorney General's Office, working with the state Department of Education, will submit draft guidelines to the Board of Education in mid-December. The standards would go to public hearing in late February.
The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed organized school prayer in 1962 and since has ruled against other imposed religious expression in public schools, including prescribed ``moments of silence.''
The General Assembly's move to endorse voluntary student prayer was bipartisan. A Republican from Woodstock, Del. Clinton Miller, was chief sponsor of legislation calling for state guidelines. Del. David G. Brickley, D-Woodbridge, sponsored a related measure endorsing voluntary, student-initiated prayer.
Miller said uniform state standards on prayer and other religious expression were needed because court rulings restricting prayer were being interpreted and applied differently by local school districts.
``Many school administrators were blanketly telling students that they couldn't have any kind of religious expression, period,'' Miller said. ``We wanted to send a clear message that school administrators, parents and students would not have to be intimidated by someone threatening to sue them for exercising their constitutional right.''
Miller said schools must respect the religious diversity of students and not coerce them to participate in organized prayer. But he said students should be able to express religious sentiments voluntarily, regardless of their faith.
``What I was looking for was if a student leader at a football rally wanted to invoke the name of Jesus Christ, or Mohammed or Mother Mary, the wrath of the world wouldn't come down on their shoulders, if it was a purely voluntary moment,'' Miller said.
To defuse potential legal challenges, staff members from the Attorney General's Office and the state Department of Education have met with groups who probably would challenge the guidelines, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way.
Judith Schaeffer, senior attorney in Washington for People for the American Way, said her group urged the General Assembly to vote against the prayer legislation, contending that ``prayer is no business of the public schools.''
``Truly voluntary prayer is and always has been allowed,'' Schaeffer said. ``The court has never, nor could it, prohibit silent prayer or stop a child from saying grace over his meal or prevent students from expressing their views in a non-disruptive way.''
Kent Willis, director of the ACLU of Virginia, said that whether a challenge is mounted will depend on how specific the guidelines are on prayer. If they are intended to clarify the issue for school administrators by simply outlining the Supreme Court's rulings, the ACLU probably wouldn't fight the state, Willis said.
``The more specific they get on what is and is not acceptable, the wider they open the Pandora's box,'' Willis said. MEMO: Related stories on pages A2 and J1.
SCHOOL PRAYER DEBATE
Status of School Prayer:
Current status:
Outlawed in 1962.
OK in Bible clubs, silent individual prayer, before or after school
groups.
U.S. Courts disagree on silent group prayer and praying in
ceremonies, like graduation.
Newt Gingrich wants:
Constitutional amendment protecting voluntary prayer.
Christian Coalition Wants:
Official sanction for non-sectarian, non-disruptive,
student-initiated prayers, even at school events.
Virginia leaders want:
New rules to promote neutrality, not hostility, to school prayer.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Ralph E. Reed Jr.
KEYWORDS: SCHOOL PRAYER RELIGION by CNB