The Freedom From Religion Foundation is insisting that four public school districts in Texas put a stop to a variety of constitutional violations.
In the Mansfield Independent School District, a teacher at Mansfield High School has been placing proselytizing biblical quotes and even Christian crosses around her classroom. In the Red Oak Independent School District in Red Oak, a recent mandatory employee convocation commenced with prayer over a loudspeaker. Reportedly, this violation occurs every year at this high school and other district schools.
FFRF has also learned of violations in the Arlington-based Arlington Independent School District, where ongoing proselytization occurred during school-football team meetings at James Bowie High School. During a scheduled ninth period class, the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams received a lecture on the importance of living their lives according to the bible, with one witness reporting that a football team coach discussed how God teaches people to “spread their domain” while projecting a verse from Genesis onto a screen as a visual aid. Lastly, in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District (located not too far from Austin), parents were sent a message through ParentSquare promoting a study of Ken R. Canfield’s “The H.E.A.R.T. of Grandparenting,” a book reflecting on the author’s “biblical insight.” The Sept. 10 message invited grandparents to discuss the book at the Jordan Intermediate Library on Sept. 19, while also suggesting future meetings.
“They say everything is bigger in Texas. Apparently so is the disregard for students’ rights,” remarks FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi.
School districts may not proselytize a captive audience, FFRF emphasizes — and this includes through religious displays in classrooms, school-sponsored prayers, religious classes and book studies. Each of these districts violate the First Amendment rights of conscience of students and employees when promoting religion. By promoting religion, they convey a message to non-Christians that they are disfavored members of the community, while adherents are insiders, favored members. Every public school district has a constitutional duty to remain neutral toward religion. Any inclusion of religion abridges that duty and needlessly excludes and marginalizes students and employees who are part of the 37 percent of the American population that is non-Christian — including the nonreligious at almost 30 percent segment of the populace.
In order for these districts to be brought in line with the Constitution, they must drop any and all religious intrusions in classrooms, mandatory meetings, class work and extracurricular book studies.
“School districts exist to educate, not indoctrinate into religion,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor says. “These four districts have been using their official communication channels, classrooms and teaching to unabashedly promote Christianity to public school students and this is a misuse of their authority, violating both student and parental rights.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with about 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 1,700 members and a chapter in Texas. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
