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Ten Ways to Pray in Public Schools
Issue No.: 242
by: Jennifer E. Marshall
1. Meet for prayer before school, at lunch, or after school. Any non-instructional time will do. Students should be courteous and careful not to disrupt school procedures. 2. Form a prayer group. If students can meet at school to play chess or chase butterflies, they can also meet to pray. Student religious groups must be allowed the same access to school facilities as other groups not directly related to the curriculum. 3. Pray before sporting events. Members of a sports team can gather teammates for a prayer huddle before the game begins. They should make it open to anyone who would like to participate. 4. Participate in "See You at the Pole." The largest nationwide student prayer event has been operating since 1990. Those who want to organize student participation should see www.syatp.com for details. 5. Rally others to pray for specific events. When trouble afflicts a student body, community, or nation, students can call classmates to a special time of prayer. Many students organized prayer rallies in the wake of the September 11 attacks. 6. Distribute prayer materials with friends. Students can distribute written prayers, tracts, or religious books in the same way that schools allow them to hand out non-religious materials. 7. Participate in a released-time program. Released-time programs allow students to attend off-campus religious instruction of their choice. Released-time is legal in all fifty states (some states have policies governing the implementation of such programs), but most districts and schools do not take advantage of this freedom. Released-time education activities are discussed in the Family Research Council's resource: Time for God: Accommodating Religious Free Exercise through Released-Time Education. 8. Share a visual prayer. Students can wear written prayers on a shirt or display them on book covers. Protections for student religious expression include statements on clothing, book covers, or other personal effects. If students are allowed to wear clothing with printed messages, religious messages cannot be censored. 9. Huddle with a friend. Whether in front of a locker or in the corner of the lunchroom, students can always stop and pray with a friend during non-instruction time. Such activity must be permitted so long as it does not disrupt school procedure. 10. Bow their heads. Students may bow their heads and their hearts at any time during the school day, whether before a math test or a meal. IF01K1
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