Supreme Court to Hear Texas School Prayer Case
Dateline: 03/21/00
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled on March 29, 2000 to hear arguments in the school prayer-related case of Santa Fe (Texas) Independent School District (SFISD), Petitioner v. Doe, Jane, etc., et al.
The "Does" are several children currently or formerly enrolled in SFISD schools and their parents who were allowed by the courts to remain anonymous.
In its case before the Supreme Court, the school district is appealing a March 17, 1999 decision of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals which found parts of its school prayer policy unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The 5th Circuit Court's decision was based on its finding that SFISD's prayer policy permitted "sectarian, proselytizing benedictions and invocations."
The Does' based their original suit against the school district on the following 1993-1994 incidents and practices as quoted from the decision of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals:
"First, in April 1993, while plaintiff Jane Doe II was attending her seventh grade Texas History class, her teacher, David Wilson, handed out fliers advertising a Baptist religious revival. Jane Doe II asked if non-Baptists were invited to attend, prompting Wilson to inquire about her religious affiliation. On hearing that she was an adherent of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon), Wilson launched into a diatribe about the non-Christian, cult-like nature of Mormonism, and its general evils. Wilson's comments inspired further discussion among Jane Doe II's classmates, some of whom reportedly noted that 'he sure does make it sound evil, ' and 'gee, . . . it's kind of like the KKK, isn't it?' Jane Doe II was understandably upset by this incident, and two days later, her mother, Jane Doe I, complained to SFISD. Because Wilson's actions were concededly contrary to written SFISD policies barring the distribution of religious literature in class or the verbal abuse of any student, he was given a written reprimand and directed to apologize to the Does and to his class."
"Second, and of greatest significance to this case, for an undisclosed period of time leading up to and including the 1992-93 and 1993-94 school years, SFISD allowed students to read overtly Christian prayers from the stage at graduation ceremonies and over the public address system at home football games. The prayers were delivered as "invocations" or "benedictions" for these events, and typically were given by officers of the student council Of course, SFISD maintained complete control over the programs and facilities during the reading of the prayers, including the ability to mute the microphone or remove the speaker. Furthermore, the text of the graduation invocations and benedictions was screened by SFISD for content prior to the ceremony."
In its decision, the 5th Circuit Court found that a public school prayer policy that "permits sectarian, proselytizing benedictions and invocations cannot pass constitutional muster," and that "messages delivered before a high school football games violates the Constitution even if such a policy includes the "nonsectarian, nonproselytizing" restrictions."
(See U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals -- Doe v Santa Fe Indep Sch, from FindLaw.com)
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