Supreme Court considers public school use

National Catholic Reporter, April 13, 2001 by Robert F. Drinan

If religious groups, contrary to the spirit and even the letter of the McCollum decision, are allowed to use classrooms after the school day ends, certain problematic situations will arise. In the South and Southwest, Baptists and other denominations can put subtle pressure on parents and students to sign up. The sponsoring groups will be able to use loudspeaker systems to remind children of very young ages to attend the activities. This can divide a school along religious lines. More practically, the attendance of a large number of students at sectarian classes after the school day ends can disrupt the schedule of buses and sports.

If the Supreme Court denies the request of the Good News Club to use the facilities of public school premises, Congress might consider legislation to extend the Equal Access Act to students younger than those in high school. A careful and deliberate decision was made by Congress to limit the privileges made available by the act to high schools. But even if Congress follows such a course, the result would not fit the practices of the Good News Club. The act is restricted to students only; under the statute a minister of religion may join the group only occasionally.

A reversal of the lower courts in Good News Club vs. Milford Central School is being sought by the Rutherford Institute and by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. The American Civil Liberties Union and its allies will be arguing that the federal courts in New York got it right.

Devout believers will be on both sides of the case. Some will argue with Thomas Jefferson that the separation of religion and government should be firm. Others will take the position that the Supreme Court has taken too separationist a view of the place of religion in the public schools.

The decision in Milford will probably divide Americans like the more than 40 other decisions of the Supreme Court on religion. The decision will deserve the close attention of everyone concerned with the orientation of America's public schools.

Jesuit Fr. Robert Drinan is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. His e-mail address is drinan@law.georgetown.edu