IS YOUR SCHOOL UNDER RIGHT-WING THREAT

IS YOUR SCHOOL UNDER RIGHT-WING THREAT?

By People for the American Way

Contact the People For the American Way Foundation if you believe

right-wing activists are pressuring your school district to adopt

policies or practices that violate the separation of church and state,

or if such policies or practices have already been adopted.

ACTION PLAN:

As a new school year begins, parents, students, teachers and

school officials in many public schools will find themselves

confronted by right-wing efforts to violate religious liberty through

unconstitutional Bible courses, school-sponsored prayer and other

means.  These efforts often surface suddenly, appearing in a local

school board meeting agenda or a new course curriculum.

Have any of these practices been promoted in your district?  If so,

please let us know and we may be able to help halt these harmful,

unconstitutional policies.

For example, we recently helped concerned families in Florida

and Mississippi protect their children's right to religious

liberty at school.  Read below about just a few of right's

campaigns to violate religious freedom in public schools.  If

your school district is confronting these or similar attacks on

church-state separation, please contact us immediately.

  Call or e-mail Steven Benford at People For the American Way

  Foundation:

    1/800-326-7329 ext. 2394  --  or mailto:sbenford@p...

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HELP PROTECT EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM: WATCH FOR THESE SCHEMES ***

The far-right American Family Association (AFA) launched a

national campaign last year to post the words "In God We Trust"

in every public school.  (Not coincidentally, the AFA is also

selling "In God We Trust" posters, 3/$10.)  School boards in

many states are now being pressured to adopt policies mandating

such displays, despite the clear requirements of the First

Amendment prohibiting government endorsement of religion.  While

this language was adopted by Congress in 1956 as the national

motto, there is a vast difference between putting this language

on a dollar bill and putting it on a poster in public schools.

When these words are directed at captive audiences of young

school children in their schools and by their schools, they send

an impermissible message of government endorsement of religion.

In August, PFAWF assisted local citizens in Collier County,

Florida, in defeating a proposal that the school board require

the display in all schools of "In God We Trust" posters donated

by the Christian Coalition.

Another Religious Right group, the National Council on Bible

Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS), is on a mission to get

schools across the country to teach Bible classes that present

the Bible as true and from a religious perspective.  While it

is permissible to teach about the Bible in public schools if the

Bible is presented objectively, courses that teach the Bible as

true or from a religious perspective violate this important

constitutional rule.

PFAWF recently assisted local residents in Pinellas County,

Florida, in turning back a proposed Bible course that used the

NCBCPS curriculum.

Many right-wing organizations encourage school districts to

authorize prayer at school-sponsored events.  Whether in the

classroom, at an assembly or before a sporting event, captive-

audience prayer is unconstitutional.  Unfortunately, some public

schools disregard this rule and violate the rights of students

by authorizing captive-audience prayer in classrooms or over

public address systems.

Thanks to the courage and vigilance of concerned families in

Mississippi, PFAWF recently helped bring an end to school-

sponsored prayer in two school districts in that state.

If you are concerned about these or similar problems in your

school district, People For the American Way Foundation would

like to know about it and may be able to assist you in opposing

such practices.

Contact Steven Benford at 1/800-326-7329 or sbenford@p...

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ABOUT PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY FOUNDATION / SUBSCRIPTION

INFORMATION

People For the American Way Foundation is committed to

defending democracy and bringing the ideals of community,

opportunity, diversity, equality and fairness together to form a

strong, united voice.

To achieve this, PFAWF conducts research, legal and education

work, as well as monitors and researches the Religious Right

movement and its political allies.  The organization is a

premier source of vital information for policymakers, scholars

and activists nationwide.

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