Prayer in Schools

Here is an article on prayer in school, chronicling the kinds of stories we finished up with on Tuesday.  It's central thesis is that since the banning of prayer in school fifty years ago, it has returned in force, albeit in different situations.

In two landmark decisions – Engel v. Vitale on June 25, 1962, and Abington School District v. Schempp on June 17, 1963 – the Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings unconstitutional. The rulings provoked unprecedented controversy, says Melissa Deckman, affiliated scholar with the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington, D.C. "School boards got so paranoid about dealing with religion that they just said, 'We shouldn't do any of that at all,' " she says.

Schools struck religion from curricula, teachers avoided the topic, and children got the message that religion took place off campus. But then, Professor Deckman explains, people began "to say, 'Look, religion is part of who we are and our culture.' "

The article talks about all the places where prayer is appearing in schools, and some big question marks.  For example, the following practice does seem to be illegal:

Clubs fall under the Equal Access Act, which stipulates that they must be student-led, participation must be voluntary, faculty sponsors can only observe, and no outside adult can "regularly attend." They can take place during the school day during a designated "club time" or after class.

Notasulga High School is an Alabama K-12 school west of Auburn with a turbulent history of desegregation. Today, 99 percent of its 405 students are eligible for the free lunch program, and despite a dramatic turnaround in graduation rates and test scores, principal Brelinda Sullen says she fights every day to keep the district from shutting the doors. When Campus Life director Flannagan asked Mrs. Sullen whether students would be interested in a program, she jumped at the opportunity: "It's all about character building, and Campus Life helps us build character in our kids."

But she knows the law, she says, and "I know how far I can go." She restricts attendance to high school students and makes it strictly voluntary. In the absence of other student clubs, anyone not participating can use club time for study hall. Though all high school students currently participate in Campus Life, Sullen says, a few students in the past have bowed out.

This suggests Campus Life is a religious club. But because Flannagan attends and conducts virtually every meeting, it could fall afoul of rules for outside-led, after-school programs.

How should courts handle a case like this?  If this is the only club in the whole school (?!) and everyone attends, it would be easy to imagine a non-believer feeling coercive pressure from the school to attend, which runs contrary to religious freedom.  On the other hand, given the situation at the school, one could make a "student benefit" argument for allowing the club.  What do you think?