What Are The Religious Freedoms Students Have At School?

Your freedom of speech can take different forms

It includes what you say to other people as well as your freedom to speak to God in prayer; it includes what you write in school assignments or what you create in an art class; it includes the words you give to a friend either by speaking or in writing. The information below comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s document Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (February 7, 2003).

1. You can pray, read your Bible or other religious material and talk about your faith at school.

2. You can organize prayer groups and religious clubs, and announce your meetings.

3. You can express your faith in your classwork and homework.

4. Your teachers can organize prayer groups and Bible studies with other teachers.

5. You may be able to go off campus to have religious study (like a Bible study) during school hours.

6. You can express your faith at a school event.

7. You can express your faith at your graduation ceremony. 

Most importantly you can talk with other students about your faith while at school, as long as it is not disrupting your classes.

For the complete Free to Speak pamphlet go to www.gtbe.org.

The pamphlet gives you all the details of each of the above seven points, a great tool for every student, parent and teacher.

For the complete government document with more information from the U.S. Department of Education click here.

For additional resources concerning the school freedoms for students, educators and parents contact Gateways to Better Education at www.gtbe.org.  Gateways To Better Education is a leading organization helping students, parents and educators.