Running head: RELIGION AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Religion and the First Amendment in the Schools

Sara Hartman
POS 500
September 21, 2016

RELIGION AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Equal Protection for English Language Learners
The First Amendment will be examined for legal issues that may arise when a
student submits an essay or drawing that is religious in nature, and how the First
Amendment is applied to this essay or drawing within a classroom setting.
Legal Issues Regarding Grading of Assignment
The Constitutional Rights of the students does not stop at the school front door.
Students have a right to freedom of speech, covered by the first amendment. The First
Amendment protects students freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to
peaceable assemble, and right to file grievance against the Unite States (U.S.
Constitution, 2010.) Students are able to incorporate religion into essays and works of
art, as long as the standards of the project is met (Alliance Defending Freedom, 2014.)
The limitation is when the school forces students into prayer, or religious activities in
order to participate in an event. Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, (2000) was
case involving students opposing pre-game prayer. The court ruled that the students who
wanted to attend the football game were subject to pre-game prayer (Santa Fe
Independent School District v. Doe, 2000.)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent

Community School District (1969) ruled in support of the students, when students wore
black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The school informed students presented to
school with black armbands, the students are going to suffer suspension from school
(Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969.) Parents became
enraged, stating the students right to free speech was being violated, and the court agreed
(Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969.)

RELIGION AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

McCollum v. Board of Education
Having examined the legal issues related to this specific scenario, the next step is to
determine the appropriateness of displaying the students work.
Appropriateness of Displaying Students Work
This section should discuss specifically the appropriateness of displaying the
students work. Again, there are many articles in the GCU online library on this topic.
Case law should be used to support your position. See previous section for sugestions.
Transition sentence into the next section of the paper goes here. (See example under
previous section).
Application of First Amendment to Scenario
School board policy (use the district you live or work in) and case law have
specifically outlined the requirements for religion in the classroom. You should discuss
those requirements in this section Transition sentence into the next section of the paper
goes here. (See example under first section).
Conclusion
Your conclusion should summarize the main points of the paper. The conclusion
should never add new material to the paper. The conclusion should be the Tell them
what you told them section of the paper. I typically use my thesis statement as my guide
to what I need to include in my conclusion.

RELIGION AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

References
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)