Butler v. Smith County

    “Public schools are supposed to be places where all students are welcomed and given access to quality education, regardless of their religious beliefs,” at least that what Hedy Weinberg the executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee (ACLU-TN) believes.  Back in 2019, ACLU-TN took on Kelly Butler and Jason and Sharona Carr’s case against Smith County Board of Education.  The lawsuit spoke about how Smith County is a religiously diverse community, but the local public schools promote and instill Christian religious beliefs to their students.  The plaintiffs allege that the local schools have “school-directed prayer during mandatory assemblies; the distribution and display of Bibles during classes; Bible verses posted in the hallways… prayers broadcast through loudspeakers at school sporting events; coaches leading or participating in prayer with student-athletes” and there is even a large mural painted on the side of the local high school that says, “In God We Trust” with a cross next to it.  The families claim that their Christocentric behavior has been occurring for several years and has made them and their children feel uncomfortable, especially since they are atheists.  One of the children said in an interview how she felt like she could not express her religious views for fears of being seen as a bad influence or mistrusting.

    The ACLU decided to focus their lawsuit on the school-sponsored prayer section of the allegations.  Stating how school staff members weave prayer into various school events, such as athletic events, graduation, and mandatory assemblies.  At Smith Country Middle School there are mandatory assemblies on Monday mornings where the principal will request students and teachers to come up and say a prayer, and after these prayers have occurred the principal will say her prayer. The students are then instructed to bow their heads and think of the people who spoke and, in some cases, “keep these people in your prayers”.  The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from sponsoring religion and throughout the decades the Supreme Court has found that that Clause extends to employees of the government, including public school teachers. By teachers and principals engage in these unconstitutional activities they raise the risk of indoctrinating students with Christianity, making students feel coerced to participate in these religious activities, showing preferential treatment to students who share their religious views, and undermining parental rights to raise their children in a specific religion (or atheist). 

    While prayer in school is not outlawed, as students have the right to pray by themselves or in groups; however, this right is to engage in “voluntary prayer or religious discussion does not necessarily include the right to preach to a captive audience, like an assembly, or to compel other students to participate”.  And while no statutes ban state-sponsored prayers in public schools, the Supreme Court has made numerous rulings about the issue.  In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the New York State Board of Regents authorized a voluntary prayer to be read at the beginning of school each day.  When the case appeared in front of the Supreme Court, they found that having a prayer read during the school day is a violation of the Establishment of Religion Clause; and this applies even if the prayer is nondenominational and voluntary. In the majority opinion, Justice Black wrote on how the school’s policy breached the constitutional wall of separation between church and state.  In Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), public schools forced students to start each day by reading a Bible verse.  The students had to stand and recite the verses before classes could begin. Students who did not want to participate were separated from their peers, and teachers ran the risk of being fired if they refused to participate in the daily prayers.  During the case, the lawyers representing Abington School District attempted to argue that Bible readings and prayers did not have a religious nature instead it was to provide order and a moral compass for their students.  Thus, there was no violation of the Establishment Clause.  The Supreme Court ruled that public schools cannot sponsor Bible readings nor prayers under the Establishment Clause. 

Just as in Engel v. Vitale and Abington School District v. Schempp Smith County public schools are promoting Christianity to their students and in doing, so I believe that the Smith County School system has violated the Establishment Clause.  There is no secular purpose that comes from handing out Bibles, saying prayers during school, seeing Bible verses in the halls, and seeing a giant cross before entering the school.  This Christian-centric behavior is not only occurring within public schools, which are government property, they are also being led and encouraged by government employees, the teachers.  Schools are supposed to a place where all students feel welcomed and safe in, but at Smith County Middle and High school students have been made to feel left out and shunned.  On September 30th, 2020 the Middle District Court of Tennessee ruled in favor of Butler and gave Smith County 30 days to comply with the ruling.