FCA Student Rights Handbook

Students retain their First Amendment liberties while on a school campus. They have the right to share their beliefs, pray, evangelize, read Scripture, and invite students to participate in such activities so long as they are voluntary, student-initiated, and not disruptive or coercive. A school may not prohibit student expression during non-instructional time unless it (1) materially and substantially interferes with the operation of the school, or (2) infringes on the rights of other students. A school may not prohibit student expression solely because others might find it offensive.

Yes, students have the right to distribute religious and nonreligious material at school during non-instructional time. Schools may bar any material that (1) materially and substantially interferes with the operation of the school, or (2) infringes on the rights of other students. However, schools may not ban student literature distribution outright nor restrict literature based on its religious content or viewpoint. For example, schools cannot bar students from distributing Christmas gift bags or invitations to religious events (i.e., a youth activity sponsored by a church) – which are considered private speech – simply because they contain religious content. Schools are permitted to enact reasonable time, place, and manner regulations, such as requiring students to distribute free literature to the general student population during non-instructional time.

Students may post signs on walls and bulletin boards and make announcements over public address systems about religious events at school to the same extent they may advertise similar secular activities. If students are, for example, allowed to post signs or make announcements regarding non-curricular events, such as the Day of Silence, students may similarly advertise religious events, such as See You at the Pole and the Day of Dialogue.

Since prayer is private speech, students may engage in it at school, as long as it would not appear that the school endorsed it. Students may pray at school on their own or in groups during non-instructional time so long as it is not disruptive. Students can, for example, pray over their meals in the cafeteria and even join with other students to pray around the flagpole before the start of school.

Private speech even at school-related functions is protected by the Constitution. Courts have held that school policies which equate all student religious speech with state speech go too far and actually violate an individual’s free speech rights. A school does not need to prohibit private religious speech in public places in order to avoid violating the Establishment Clause. The test is whether the prayer is genuinely student-initiated and student-led, and not part of a school policy that encourages or endorses it. Similar to the guidelines noted above for graduation, a school can allow a pre-game message to be given by a neutrally-selected student, and the message chosen by the student, whether religious or not, should be permissible. This should prevent any appearance of endorsement regarding student messages, including those that are religious in nature. Students, including those on sports teams, are also permitted to pray together before or after sporting events, provided the prayer is student-initiated and student-led.