Concerns Abound Over New Religious Laws Passed By Legislature

From the stupid bill that tinkered with the Pledge to the Texas Flag to Warren Chisum’s controversial Bible Bill, to the insane “Religious Expression” bill geared toward public schools, the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature was the best the Religious Right ever had in Austin.

That banner year, however, will likely be costly. All three of the controversial measures discussed above could lead to litigation across the state over separation of church and state. The final one, the Religious Liberties bill, however, could be the most dangerous and controversial one:

The law does not address concerns that such a selection process could wind up leaving out minority faiths.

“This mandate is going to create a collision of ideas that should really take place outside of the school,” Superintendent Richard Middleton of North East Independent School District said. “Our lawyer fees are going to go up because of this.”

The new law creates a “limited open forum” that gives students the opportunity to speak about religious issues. It states that if a student speaker at a sports event, a school assembly or a graduation ceremony elects to express a religious viewpoint while addressing an otherwise permissible topic, school officials must treat the religious content the same as they would the secular content.

What specifically is the problem? Check this:

But Doug Laycock, a law professor at the University of Michigan who has represented the American Civil Liberties Union on First Amendment issues, said the new law attempts to “create school prayer with plausible deniability.”

“This is so irresponsible,” Laycock said of the law. “It’s going to cause legal problems for districts across the state, and they’re going to be stuck with the lawsuits.”

The law also requires schools to allow religious expression in artwork, homework or other assignments and allow religious clubs or prayer groups to meet in school facilities on the same basis as other student groups — something that was already taking place in San Antonio school districts.

Brian Woods, assistant superintendent for secondary administration at Northside ISD, said he’ll have to figure out what counts as a limited public forum. Is it just graduation ceremonies and school assemblies, or does it include morning announcements, usually delivered by a student over a school’s public address system?

In a diverse district such as Northside, where students speak more than 30 languages, ensuring that every view is represented and no one feels marginalized will be a challenge, Woods said. He also worries about the potential for conflict.

“If a kid on the football team expresses a religious message that is not in keeping with everyone in the room, will there be protests? That school principal will have to deal with that,” Woods said. “What if someone wants their time to respond then and there? If we allowed a Christian to express a religious viewpoint, and then a Wiccan wants equal time, how could we prevent them from doing the same?”

Exactly. And, when administrators don’t allow it, therein lies the litigation. By the same token, if they allow a Wiccan equal time, then the Christians will sue. It’ll be a disaster, and you can bet litigation will be filed before the end of the first month of school.

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