skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Texas Schools Continue to Violate First Amendment Rights

play audio
Play

Wednesday, September 12, 2012   

HOUSTON - Twelve years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a landmark Texas religious-freedom case, a new report concludes that a surprising number of Texas school personnel continue to ignore long-settled law.

The report by ACLU of Texas examines the current state of public school compliance with the First Amendment.

Of the hundreds of school-related complaints her office fields each year, says Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director for ACLU of Texas, most concern students feeling pressured or uncomfortable.

"Students are denied the right to wear their rosary to school, or to wear their hair in a way that their religious beliefs require. We get a lot of complaints about teachers speaking about their own personal religious beliefs, leading kids in prayer."

She says it's unconstitutional for public schools to refuse to accommodate students' religious beliefs unless there are compelling reasons such as when discipline is at stake. She says students also should not be pressured into attending events at faith-based facilities.

Too many people assume that the majority always should prevail, Robertson says. In 2000, after administrators in Santa Fe, Texas, allowed students to vote on whether to allow public prayers at football games, the Supreme Court struck down the practice. Robertson praises that ruling because, she says, the freedom to worship - as well as freedom from worship - are fundamental rights.

"That's never subject to a majority vote. Every one of us really relies on that guarantee that - even if we're in the minority, even if those in power disagree with us - we are absolutely protected in our religious beliefs."

The report says Texas families who have spoken out against religion in school have experienced retaliation - from physical attacks and property attacks to lost jobs and social rejection. Intimidation often silences would-be critics, Robertson says, adding that too many officials still are allowing school practices in clear violation of the law.

"In general, the Constitution and our Texas laws go a long way to say that kids and parents have the right to worship as they wish, or not; to exercise their religion freely in schools - and schools need to create an atmosphere that tolerates that."

She says her organization receives the most school complaints during the fall football season and around spring graduation.

The report, along with tips for dealing with rights violations, is online at aclutx.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021