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Religion Briefs
What
part does God
play in graduation |
While federal rules pertaining to prayer in the schools have become
unclear, Newberg adheres to Oregon state law and allows baccalaureate services only |
By Christie Scotty, Newberg Graphic
Reporter
Email Christie at cscotty@eaglenewspapers.com
|
While new U.S. guidelines issued in February promise to further complicate
annual disputes and legal wrangling over what kind of religious language students can use
at public school graduation ceremonies, that is not the case in Newberg. Oregon law is
clear: no school-sponsored prayer at graduation services.
As June approaches other schools across the nation are scrambling to adhere
to federal Department of Education guidelines, issued as part of President Bush’s
“No Child Left Behind Act,” because for the first time they have teeth: If
schools do not accommodate “constitutionally protected prayer,” they risk losing
public funds.
While most of the guidelines aren’t new, critics say they may encourage
prayer too strongly at a time when federal courts around the country have issued
conflicting rulings about what is acceptable student expression at graduation.
As has been the case for more than a decade, the Newberg School District
allows time for prayer only at its baccalaureate services, normally held several days
before graduation.
“There is no religious component built into graduation,” said
Claudia Stewart, spokeswoman for the school district. “There is no
formal prayer at the graduation ceremony sponsored by the school. The key here is
sponsorship by the school.
“Baccalaureate is the religious ceremony related to graduation and is
organized by students. It is not sponsored by the school.”
Stewart said a senior class adviser will work with students to plan a
baccalaureate program, usually held in conjunction with a local church.
Schools must adhere to different legal standards depending on what federal
circuit they are in. In the Northeast, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in
1996 that the regional high school board in Camden County, N.J., could not let graduating
seniors vote on whether a student should say a prayer at graduation. The court said the
vote did not remove the appearance that the state was sanctioning prayer.
In the Southwest, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2000 that
while a student in Parker County, Texas, had the right to lead a prayer at graduation, the
school district also had the right to edit her prayer in advance to make sure it was
nonsectarian and did not proselytize.
Many expect the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue soon. Meanwhile
more schools are opting for one solution that already has the Supreme Court’s
blessing: A moment of silence, which church-state experts say respects anyone’s wish
to pray in any matter they choose, or to not pray at all.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent brush with graduation prayers came
in December 2001 when it declined to review an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that
upheld a Duval County, Fla., school board’s policy. The policy permits a graduating
class to appoint a student speaker to deliver a message, and most years, that message has
been religious.
But the court hasn’t always been consistent. In 1992, the court ruled
that clergy-led prayers at graduation ceremonies violated the First Amendment’s
prohibition against government establishment of religion. |
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From May 17,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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