Educators Learn How to Handle Religion in Public Schools at Breakfast Featuring Area Counsel

Date: September 22, 2009

ADL's Southwest Regional Office provided a session on "Religion in the Public Schools," for area educators featuring Southern Area Counsel David Barkey in mid-September.

Barkey told the educators at the session, hosted by Community of Respect™ partner Spectra Energy, that he deals with many questions and complaints involving religion in public schools in ADL's Southern Region, which includes Texas, Louisiana, and several southern states to the east. 

Barkey gave the educators a "pop quiz" designed to determine how much they understood court interpretations of the First Amendment and its "establishment clause" and "free exercise clause" regarding religion in public schools.  Most of the questions could be answered several ways, highlighting the difficulties of dealing with religious questions for public school officials.

Barkey's presentation covered many issues, including what ADL calls "The December Dilemma," where school officials are faced with a variety of religious observances, including Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa and how to respond to them.   It also covered prayer in public school, religious displays, religious meetings, student religious clubs, and other issues related to religion.

ADL's efforts to provide information to public school educators on religious issues continued after the presentation with a special e-mail to Southwest Region superintendents, from ADL's Houston and Austin offices.  The e-mail included information on Jewish and Muslim holy days and observances, rules regulating the distribution of Bibles and other religious materials on or near school campuses, and rules regarding "See You At The Flagpole" events on school campuses.