School District in Nevada Challenges First Amendment

A Christian church recently announced that its First Amendment rights are being violated by a ban on church promotional flyers in a Nevada school district.

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, a Christian church in Nevada, recently announced that its First Amendment rights are being violated by a rural school district ban on promotional flyers that the church wants to distribute at school programs. This announcement was made in a letter that was sent to the Lyon County School District seeking equal access to its community flyer distribution program. This letter suggests that the school district east of Reno could face legal action if changes don’t occur regarding current policy.

The Policy in Question

This policy in question was adopted in July and expresses the viewpoint that many organizations represent development among studies and their families. The school district under the policy is permitted to help groups in distributing flyers that contain announcements. In accordance with this policy, flyers that promote any type of partisan political belief, religious belief, or propaganda are prohibited.

The Two Sides of the Argument

District Attorneys for the area argue that the policy is legal. This legal counsel has also commented that they were surprised by perspectives that the policy was against the law. Furthermore, the district argues that it has always maintained a good faith relationship with the church. The school district offers the church the opportunity to host an after-school program and has provided volunteers to help the church set up tables at family night.

The church argues that it has the largest legal organization in the country dedicated to defending religious freedom on its side. Legal counsel on behalf of the church argues that the school district refused to distribute flyers about activities by the church while allowing flyers about other activities from communities like the Boys and Girls Clubs. School district officials, however, refused to allow the flyers until Bible quotations and images of the cross were removed. Because the school district permits flyers from a secular perspective, the church argues that flyers with religious subtext must also be accepted.

Law in the Case

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that school employees must remain neutral in regards to private religious speech.

As a result, students still have the right to pray individually or in groups in public schools. Students also are able to discuss their religious views provided that doing so does not disrupt other individuals. This means that students can quietly pray and say grace priors to meals while at public schools. In informal settings, students are also able to pray provided that they follow certain guidelines. The question presented by this recent case is whether religious groups at a school are in accordance with these guidelines or not.

Chronicling Issues Concerning Religion in School

The Universal Life Church’s blog each month aims to discuss some of the most pressing issues in the ongoing debate about the exercise of religion in the classroom. While many of the laws in this area are hundreds of years old and extend to the United States Constitution, the degree to which individuals are lawfully able to combine religion and public school education continues to be debated.

(image courtesy of Daniel Tseng)