Last Thursday (coinciding with the National Day of Prayer), Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed into law the Alabama Student Religious Liberties Act of 2015 (
full text). It prohibits discrimination against students or parents on the basis of religious viewpoint or religious expression. It provides in part:
Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Homework and classroom assignments shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns....
It also provides that:
Students in public schools may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious activities or expression.
AL.com reports on the enactment of the new law.
[Thanks to Blog From the Capital for the lead.]
