recent poll appearing in the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” website states that about 60% of the general public is ill informed about the separation of church and state and how it applies in educational settings (Gaylor, 2001). It may come as a surprise to some, but students have many religious rights on public school campuses. In 1969 the Supreme Court held that students “do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate” and that the First Amendment protects public school students’ rights to express political social and religious views (Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 1969). The following are students’ religious rights in the public school systems.Students have the right to identify their religious beliefs through signs and symbols (Brinkley, 2001) including clothing, jewelry, or any other visible expression. Schools enjoy substantial discretion in adopting policies relating to student dress and school uniforms. Students generally have no federal right to be exempted from religiously-neutral and generally applicable school dress rules based on their religious beliefs or practices; however, schools may not single out religious attire in general, or attire of a particular religion, for prohibition or regulation. Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages. Religious messages may not be singled out for suppression, but rather are subject to the same rules as generally apply to comparable messages (“A Parent’s Guide”, 2001).Students have the right to talk about their religious beliefs on campus (Brinkley, 2001). Freedom of speech is a fundamental right mandated in the Constitution and does not exclude the schoolyard. Students may also speak to, and attempt to persuade, their peers about religious topics just as they do with regard to political topics. School off...
