HJR 19 has been introduced in the Missouri General Assembly. It proposes a state constitutional amendment that would "ensure public school students their right to free exercise of religious expression without interference, as long as such prayer or other expression is private and voluntary, whether individually or corporately, and in a manner that is not disruptive nor in violation of other policies, rules, or standards, and as long as such prayers or expressions abide within the same parameters placed upon any other free speech under similar circumstances". The proposed amendment also requires "that all free public schools receiving state appropriations ... display, in a conspicuous and legible manner, the text of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States".
Last Wednesday, the House Special Committee on General Laws heard testimony on the proposal. Saturday's issue of The Maneater reports that at the hearings, Rep. Beth Low argued that the amendment is unnecessary and would not accomplish its goals.
