Charlie Final Presentation

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Charlie Final Presentation
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Brief History of the Pledge of Allegiance

• The Pledge of Allegiance was first written in
  1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist Minister and
  Socialist, for the patriotic family magazine The
  Youth's Companion . At that time it read "I
  Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for
  which it stands one nation indivisible, with
  liberty and Justice for all.
• "The Pledge officially became part of the US Flag
  Code in 1942. In 1954 the words "under God" were
  added to the Pledge by Congress with approval
  from President Dwight Eisenhower.
• A 2001 lawsuit, filed by Michael A. Newdow,
  contested the inclusion of the phrase "under God"
  in the Pledge of Allegiance, citing a violation
  of church-state separation principles.

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PRO under God

• Some proponents argue that the United States was
  created from the Christian principles of the
  Founding Fathers and as such the Pledge should
  respect the country's heritage.
• Others say the US Constitution protects freedom
  of religion and not freedom from religion.
• Many advocates of including "under God" in the
  Pledge point out that polls show at least 80 of
  Americans support it, that federal law already
  contains 22 references to "God," and that
  Presidents swear an oath of office ending with
  "so help me God."
• Many others claim the incorporation of religious
  language is a reflection of the US civic culture
  and not a promotion of religion.

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CON under God

• Some opponents argue that church and state should
  be kept separate as the Founding Fathers
  intended.
• Others say the phrase "under God" in the Pledge
  places "undue coercion" on young children, thus
  violating the Establishment Clause of the First
  Amendment. They also declare that the US
  Constitution protects minority rights against
  majority will.
• Many advocates of removing "under God" point out
  that the phrase was not written into the original
  pledge and that the opposition to returning to
  the original pledge is proof that "under God" is
  a religious symbol
• and not merely a secular practice.

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Jehovahs Witness the Pledge of Allegiance

• Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
• Two Jehovah's Witness school children, 10
  (William) and 12 (Lillian) years old, were
  suspended from school in Minersville,
  Pennsylvania, because they refused to salute the
  American flag during mandatory morning exercises.
  As a result, their father had to pay for them to
  enroll in a private school.The parents alleged
  that their children's' due process rights had
  been violated by the school and sued.
• In an 8-1 Court Decision with Justice
  Frankfurter writing the majority opinion, the
  Supreme Court found that the school district had
  a strong interest in creating national unity that
  was sufficient to permit them to compel students
  to salute the flag.
• The Court also found that students would not be
  pulled away from their faith by partaking in the
  pledge because their parents have a much greater
  influence than the school in the development of
  their religious beliefs.
• West Virginia State Board of Education v.
  Barnette (1943)
• West Virginia required both students and
  teachers to participate in saluting the flag
  during exercises at the beginning of each school
  day as part of a standard school
  curriculum.Failure on the part of anyone to
  comply meant expulsion - and in such a case the
  student was considered illegally absent until
  they were allowed back.
• A group of Jehovah's Witness families refused to
  salute the flag because it represented a graven
  image they could not acknowledge in their
  religion and so they filed suit to challenge the
  curriculum as a violation of their religious
  liberties.
• With Justice Jackson writing the majority
  opinion, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the
  school district violated the rights of students
  by forcing them to salute the American flag.
• This decision reversed the Court's judgement
  three years prior in Gobitis. This time, the
  Court recognized that it was a serious violation
  of individual liberty to force an individual to
  give a salute and thereby assert a belief
  contrary to one's religious faith.?Although the
  state might have a certain amount of interest in
  having some uniformity among students, this
  wasn't enough to justify forced compliance. Even
  minimal harm which might be created by lack of
  compliance was not judged as great enough to
  ignore the rights of the students to exercise
  their religious beliefs.

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District Calendars

• List Intercessions or Breaks
• in Generic Terms
• such as Winter instead of Christmas.

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School Calendars

• Instead of Black History Month consider
  Multicultural or Diversity Month.
• If you go with something such as Black History
  Month have other events addressing and
  recognizing other cultures or races.

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School Calendars cont.

• If you are having seasonal or topical events
  schedule them after school hours
• to allow students who
• are unable to attend to opt out.
• School sponsored activities should focus on more
  than one religion or religious holiday and
  calendars should represent this.

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Holidays and Celebrations

• Holidays with both religious and secular bases
  may be observed. Music, art, literature, and
  drama may be included in the curriculum if
  presented in a prudent and objective manner and
  only as a part of the cultures and religious
  heritage of the holidays.  Religious symbols may
  be used only has a teaching aid and or resources
  only if they are displayed as a part of the
  cultural and religious heritage of the holiday
  and are temporary in nature.

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Pre/Post Game Prayers

• Mandatory or public prayers over P.A. are not
  allowed at sporting events.
• Coach or staff led prayers are unconstitutional
• Students may voluntarily participate
• in prayers on their own
• No one can be forced participate
• in prayers at school events

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Santa Fe v. Doe

• Supreme Court said student led prayer before a
  high school football game violates establishment
  clause
• School elected a student chaplain to perform
  prayer on PA at game
• Students voted on whether to allow prayer and
  which student would deliver the prayer
• Lee v. Weisman was used as a guideline

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School Prayer Timeline

• 1962 Engel v. Vitale - staff led prayer at the
  beginning of the day is unconstitutional
• 1963 Abington Township SD v. Schempp -prohibits
  school officials from leading prayer or bible
  readings in public schools

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School Prayer Timeline cont.

• 1985 Wallace v. Jaffree
• Moment of silence not allowed
• 1992 Lee v. Weisman
• Layperson may not lead a prayer at graduation
• 2000 Santa Fe v. Doe
• Student led prayer over the PA system at football
  games is unconstitutional

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Main Issues still to be decided

• Moment of silence - many states have passed
  moment of silence laws
• which claim a secular purpose
• The next couple Supreme Court appointments could
  have major impact on direction of the courts

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• United States Constitution can be accessed from
  the following websites
• http//www.law.emory.edu/index.php?id3080
• http//depts.alverno.edu/dgp/GEC/Overview20of20C
  onstitution.html

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Resources for Parents, Students and Teachers

• Printable material that can be viewed
• http//www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/rel
  igioninpublicschools/parentsguidereligion.pdf
• http//www.firstamendmentcenter.org/PDF/teachersgu
  ide.PDF

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• General information regarding religion and public
  schools
• http//www.firstamendmentcenter .org/rel lib
  erty/publicschools/topic .aspx ?topicschool
  prayer

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Charlie Team Handbook Section

• To our school boardWe have been researching ways
  that free speech and the separation of church and
  state have made an impact on the ways our schools
  operate. We have looked at the Pledge of
  Allegiance, Holiday Celebrations and Assemblies,
  and Pre and Post Game Prayer and have some
  recommendations for the Rock Island District 41
  policies and procedures student/ parent handbook.
  
• The public school system should try to promote
  greater tolerance and understanding among
  students of different traditions and still follow
  the guidelines of the First Amendment. The Rock
  Island School District 41 will follow specific
  guidelines to ensure that our schools celebrate
  the various holiday seasons that our families
  recognize in a way favorable to all.

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Teaching of Religious Holidays

• The public school system may teach about various
  religions however, may not observe specific
  religious holidays. Students can gain
  understanding of and respect for different
  cultures and beliefs when they are taught about
  them in the safe school setting. No one culture
  or religion should be addressed, instead
  traditions of numerous cultures or religions
  should be explored.

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Holiday Assemblies

• Public assemblies are allowable, as long as they
  are presented objectively as part of the
  educational program. Religious portions of a
  program are allowed as long as they are only a
  small portion of the assembly and do not push or
  promote a certain religious viewpoint. In
  addition, school-sponsored activities should
  include more than one religion (religious songs,
  etc) in the assembly. Students are allowed to
  opt out of any activity, which they may find
  offensive without any adverse effect to them.

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Decoration of School Property

• Classrooms and public areas of schools may be
  decorated as long as the decorations do not
  endorse or favor one religion or culture over
  another. Schools should represent and encourage
  understanding of the diversity of the seasons and
  various cultures and avoid using religious
  symbols that have specific religious meanings.
  Teachers or schools may not show preference to
  any one religion or culture.

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Prayer at Athletic Events

• It is the Rock Island School District 41 policy
  to prevent mandatory public prayers led by any
  school staff member, parent, layperson, or
  student present before, at, or after any extra
  curricular event. Staff members may not lead
  students in voluntary prayers before, at, or
  after a game either. Students are allowed to
  pray at these events as long as the prayer is
  voluntary and not required as part of the event
  or to participate in the event. The school will
  not encourage or discourage prayer of any kind
  before, at, or after extracurricular events.
  School officials will monitor extracurricular
  events to ensure that these guidelines are
  followed and that students are not and will not
  be discriminated against based on personal
  beliefs.

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Pledge of Allegiance

• At the Rock Island School District 41 students
  are offered the opportunity to recite the Pledge
  of Allegiance to the United States Flag once
  during each school day. Participation in
  recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance will be
  voluntary. Students may refuse to participate in
  recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance for any
  reason, including religious, political,
  philosophical, or personal reasons.
• If a student chooses not to participate, he/she
  may stand or sit in silence.

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Charlie Team

• Kristin Holmberg
• Jennifer Kuehn
• Janet Lockhart-Johnson
• Anna Lorenz
• Karen Martinek-Anger
• Joe Mowen