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Bonneville Joint School District No. 93
STUDENT RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY AT SCHOOL
In keeping with the United States and Idaho Constitutions and judicial decisions, the Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 may not support religion or endorse religious activity. At the same time, the District may not prohibit private religious expression by
students. The purpose of this policy is to provide direction to students and staff
members about the application of these principles to student religious activity at school.
Guidelines
Student Prayer and Discussion
1. Students may pray individually or in groups and discuss their religious views with
other students, as long as they are not disruptive or coercive.
2. The right to engage in voluntary prayer does not include the right to have a captive
audience listen, to harass other students, or to force them to participate.
3. Students may pray quietly in the classroom, except when they are expected to be involved in classroom instruction or activities.
Staff Members
1. Staff members are representatives of the District and must “navigate the narrow
channel between impairing intellectual inquiry and propagating a religious creed.” 2. Staff members may not encourage, discourage, persuade, dissuade, sponsor,
participate in, or discriminate against a religious activity or an activity because of its
religious content. They must remain officially neutral toward religious expression.
Graduation Ceremonies
1. Graduation is an important event for students and their families. In order to assure
the appropriateness and dignity of the occasion, the District sponsors and pays for
graduation ceremonies and retains ultimate control over their structure and content.
2. District officials may not invite or permit members of the clergy to give prayers at graduation.
3. District officials may not organize or agree to requests for prayer by other persons at
graduation, including requests from students.
4. The District may not prefer the beliefs of some students over the beliefs of others,
coerce dissenters or nonbelievers, or communicate any endorsement of religion.
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Bonneville Joint School District No. 93
Student Religious Activity at School
Baccalaureate Ceremonies
1. Students and their families may organize baccalaureate services, at which attendance must be entirely voluntary. Organizers of baccalaureate services may rent and have access to school facilities on the same basis as other private groups
but may not receive preferential treatment.
2. The District may not be identified as sponsoring or endorsing baccalaureate services. District funds, including paid staff time, may not be used directly or
indirectly to support or subsidize any religious services.
Assemblies, Extracurricular and Athletic Events
1. District officials may not invite or permit members of the clergy, staff members, or
outsiders to give prayers at school-sponsored assemblies and extracurricular or athletic events.
2. District officials may not organize or agree to student requests for prayer at
assemblies and other school-sponsored events.
3. Prayer may not be broadcast over the school public address system, even if the
prayer is nonsectarian, non-proselytizing, and initiated by students.
Student Religious Expression and Assignments
1. Students may express their individual religious beliefs in reports, tests, homework,
and projects.
2. Staff members should judge their work by ordinary academic standards, including
substance, relevance, appearance, composition, and grammar.
3. Student religious expression should neither be favored nor penalized.
Religion in the Curriculum
1. Staff members may teach students about religion in history, art, music, literature,
and other subjects in which religious influence has been and continues to be felt.
2. Staff members may not teach religion or advocate religious doctrine or practice.
3. The prohibition against teaching religion extends to curricular decisions that promote
religion or religious beliefs.
4. School programs, performances, and celebrations must serve an educational purpose. The inclusion of religious music, symbols, art, or writings is permitted if the
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Bonneville Joint School District No. 93
Student Religious Activity at School
religious content has an historical and/or independent educational purpose that
contributes to the objectives of the approved curriculum. 5. School programs, performances, and celebrations cannot promote, encourage,
discourage, persuade, dissuade, or discriminate against a religion or religious
activity and cannot be religious or religious-holiday oriented.
Student Religious Clubs
Students may organize clubs to discuss or promote religion, subject to the same
constitutionally acceptable restrictions that the District imposes on other student-
organized clubs.
Distribution of Religious Literature
1. Students may distribute religious literature to their classmates, subject to the same constitutionally acceptable restrictions that the District imposes on the distribution of
other non-school literature.
2. Outsiders may not distribute religious or other literature to students on school
property, consistent with and pursuant to policy #4285 Use of School Property for
Posting Materials and District Electronic Equipment or Students for Distributing
Information.
Religious Holidays
1. Staff members may teach objectively about religious holidays and about the
religious symbols, music, art, literature, and drama that accompany the holidays.
2. The historical aspects of religious holidays may be celebrated, but may not be observed as religious events.
Adopted: 03-09-2005 Reviewed: 01-17-2018 Revised:
Cross Reference: School Calendar #2200