| Chapter 40 Problems Problem 40.3 The following situations involve government action and regulation. For each, determine whether the established clause, the free exercise clause, or both are involved. Then decide whether the government�s actions violates the First Amendment. a. A state law disqualified members of the clergy from holding certain public offices. b. A high school student has been deaf since birth asks his school district to pay for a sign language interpreter to accompany him to classes at a local religious school. A federal law requires school districts to provide for the education of all children with disabilities. The school district (which had provided him with an interpreter while he attended public school) refuses to pay. c. A state law authorizes a one-minute period of silence in all public schools �for meditation or voluntary prayer. d. A state law requires that the Ten Commandments be posted in each school classroom. e. A group of high school students applies to the school principal to forma prayer club. The group agrees to follow the rules required of student clubs, which meet twice a week at the beginning of the school year during an activity period. A faculty member volunteers to supervise the group. However, the principal refuses the group�s request. f. A state requires citizens applying for unemployment benefits to accept appropriate jobs that are available. A citizen is denied continued unemployment compensation because she refuses to accept a job that requires her to work on a day she celebrates her Sabbath. g. A state passes a law that it says is designed to give parents greater freedom of choice when selecting schools for their children. Parents may use a government voucher to pay tuition at private or religiously affiliated schools. |