Tennessee School Board Agrees To Settlement In Challenge To Religious Practices

The ACLU of Tennessee announced yesterday that the Sumner County (TN) Board of Education has agreed to enter into a consent decree in a lawsuit charging that the Sumner County schools have engaged in a pattern of promoting religion. (See prior posting.) The proposed Consent Decree (full text) in ACLU of Tennessee v. Sumner County Board of Education is summarized by the ACLU as follows:

school officials can no longer promote their personal religious beliefs to students.  Religious symbols and items may not be displayed in a place publicly visible to students.  Teachers may supervise student clubs but can no longer participate in their activities and school officials cannot encourage or solicit prayer at school functions.  School events may not be held in religious venues except under certain limited conditions and the schools can no longer take field trips to religious sites.  Only family members will be permitted to visit schools at lunchtime.  Groups wishing to distribute materials to students, such as members of Gideons International, must do so in a neutral way, minimizing contact with students and no groups will be given preferential access to students.  Non-religious clubs shall not have “chaplain” positions and all course materials and choral music must have a clear pedagogical purpose.

The Tennessean, reporting on the settlement said school officials emphasized that under it students will still be able to pray at school, study the Bible during lunch breaks, organize religious clubs, wear religious jewelry and hold See You At the Pole prayer events so long as teachers do not participate in or lead the activity.