Religious Accommodation for Students

In school districts across the United States, students come from diverse backgrounds. This includes a wide range of religious backgrounds. It's important for schools to respect and accommodate religious beliefs. This means making changes to help students follow their religions. Things like dress codes, what they eat, and when they have religious holidays all need special attention. The U.S. Department of Education and laws like the Civil Rights Act protect these rights. This way, every student gets an equal opportunity to learn, regardless of their religion.

Public schools must perform a careful balancing act. This applies when their students seek accommodations for their religious beliefs. As a general rule, public schools may not advance any specific religion. They also can't discriminate in their treatment of different religions. But they must also avoid acting or failing to act in any way that prevents students from exercising their right to religious expression.

This article explores religious accommodations for students in public school settings.

Public Schools' Obligations

Public schools must follow certain rules to ensure they respect students' religious beliefs. This is part of the U.S. Constitution and state law. Schools must consider reasonable accommodations if a student or their parents make a written request. Many laws have shaped public schools' obligations to provide religious accommodations. Let's explore these laws in greater detail.

First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

The First Amendment of the Constitution includes two clauses. These clauses relate to religion and public institutions. First, there's the Establishment Clause. This clause prevents the government and public institutions from certain activities. They must refrain from activities that endorse, advance, or otherwise advantage a religion.

Second, there's the Free Exercise Clause. This clause prohibits actions that would prevent individuals from observing their religious practices. Religious accommodations generally fall under the requirements of the Free Exercise Clause. This is because failure to make allowances for a student's beliefs may interfere with their religious observance.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Several different tests were developed through court decisions. Courts use these tests when determining if a school impedes a student's right to free exercise of religion. In 1993, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This Act establishes that schools may only burden a person's religious exercise where they can show a "compelling interest." They must also use the least restrictive means possible to protect that interest.

Equal Access Act

Another law directly related to religion and schools is the Equal Access Act. This act ensures that students in religious activities have the same right of access to school facilities as comparable non-religious student groups. This law indicates that where a "limited open forum" is made available to students, denying equal access or discriminating against any students who wish to conduct a meeting within the forum for religious purposes is unlawful.

The law defines "limited open forums" (student club meetings and other voluntary meetings not sponsored by the school or state) as well as "fair opportunity" for access to those forums. As elsewhere, this law has a caveat. It states that schools may take necessary action to ensure the order, discipline, and well-being of their students and faculty. But they must also ensure that student attendance at such meetings is voluntary.

Students' Religious Rights

Public school students have many rights when it comes to their religious beliefs, including:

• Using school spaces for religious clubs and events like other groups can
• Talking about their religious beliefs in homework and projects (teachers will grade them on how well they did the work, not on their religious ideas)
• Praying quietly and non-disruptively when they're not busy with school activities or instruction
• Chatting with their friends about their religion (but the school might intercede if speech becomes harassing)
• Showing religious messages, like wearing religious clothes
• Skipping certain material if the lesson would substantially burden the student's free exercise of religion
• Handing out religious papers to other students, just like they can with non-religious material, as long as it's at the right time and place

Students should not face discrimination at school for their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or national origin. Federal law protects these rights, and schools must follow and respect this.

Dietary Restrictions and School Lunches

Many religions have rules about what can and can't be eaten. Schools don't have to provide accommodations for religious dietary restrictions. But some school districts try to meet the needs of their students. This is especially true when a large number of students share the same religious belief. Since a child may bring lunch from home, failing to provide lunches that follow dietary restrictions has not been found to infringe upon the student's rights to the free exercise of religion.

A school district in Michigan provides halal meals for its predominantly Muslim schools. Other school districts end meat on Fridays during Catholic Lent. Some schools offer a vegetarian option for students with dietary restrictions. But, as of today, the issue of school lunches has not been litigated.

Religious Holidays and Excused Absences

Students might need to miss school for religious holidays. Schools should allow these as excused absences. This is part of respecting the student's religious needs. Families should submit an accommodation request for these days. Schools should plan tests and major activities in a way that considers these religious holidays. This helps ensure all students have the same chance to do well in school.

Dress Code and Religious Clothing

Dress codes can sometimes clash with religious clothing. Federal law and the Civil Rights Act say that schools must give exemptions to dress code rules for religious reasons. This might mean allowing head coverings or other religious garments. The school district policy should include these exemptions. It's important that these rules do not discriminate against any student because of their religion.

Consulting With a Lawyer About Religious Accommodations in Schools

Religious rights in the context of public education can be hotly contested. If you feel that your or your children's rights to religious expression and observance have been infringed, you should contact an experienced civil rights attorney to discuss your claim.