D.C. public schools discontinue promotion of religious play

Church & State, Jul/Aug 1999

Officials with the public school system in Washington, D.C., have promised to end promotion of a religious play after receiving a complaint from Americans United.

Administrators at Ballou Senior High School in Washington encouraged a May 20 performance of "Ruby," even though the play is replete with biblical references and what The Washington Post called an "overtly from-the-pulpit message."

The play, written by Deborah Jean Nicholson, is designed to persuade teenagers not to engage in premarital sex. Nicholson told The Post, "The Lord wants the message to get out for his children, to know the truth about sex."

In a letter to school officials, Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn and Litigation Counsel Ayesha Khan said the school had taken the wrong approach to address the problem of teen sexual activity.

"We applaud the school's and the playwright's efforts to address the problem of teen pregnancy," wrote Lynn and Khan. "We share the belief that this problem warrants the dedication of significant resources and energy. However, public school efforts to confront the problem must be undertaken from a secular, objective perspective, leaving for parents the option of supplementing a child's education on these matters with religious teachings."

On May 27 Joseph M. Carrillo, associate superintendent for District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), wrote to Lynn and Khan and assured them that the play would not be repeated. In the letter, Carrillo noted that Ballou High's assistant superintendent acknowledged that the performance "may have overstepped the permissible boundaries established by DCPS."

Americans United subsequently sent school officials a variety of materials explaining the law regarding religion in public schools and offered to help school attorneys draft comprehensive policies in this area.

In other news about religion in public schools:

A Gorman, Texas, student who wears his hair long for religious reasons has won readmission to his high school, thanks to intervention by Americans United.

Freshman Zachary Sanders was expelled for failing to meet the school's hair-length requirement for boys. His family contacted Americans United, which informed the school that the boy wears his hair long for religious reasons. Zachary belongs to a small religious group called Oahspe. Founded in the late 19th century, Oahspe teaches that men and women should wear long hair as a sign of their spirituality.

In a letter to school officials, AU attorney Khan cited previous cases in Texas courts holding that Native American students have the right to wear long hair for religious reasons. "Similarly, because Zachary's desire to have long hair derives from the teachings of The Oahspe Bible (p. 146, verse 5), failing to excuse him from the hair length requirement constitutes a violation of his Free Exercise rights," wrote Khan.

After further discussion, school offcials agreed to let Sanders return to school.

Crosby, Minn., school officials, in response to an Americans United protest, have agreed to stop allowing Gideons to distribute Bibles to fourth graders.

Residents had complained that the Gideons asked bus drivers to distributes Bibles to the children and on one occasion arranged to have the drivers take the buses to a private park where children were discharged and given Bibles.

School officials assured Americans United that the practices will stop. In a June 3 letter Superintendent William Makinen wrote, "This letter is to inform you that the Crosby-Ironton Public Schools will no longer allow this practice to take place. In conversing with the Gideons prior to the date of distribution, they had mentioned a process of handing out Bibles which was completely contrary to what actually happened on May 20, 1999. I am disturbed at what the Gideons said they were going to do as compared to what they actually did in distributing the Bibles. Therefore, any future requests from the Gideons to hand out Bibles to our students will de denied."