0119_Evers_Pushes_School_Prayer

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Evers Pushes School Prayer Bill

Pensacola News Journal - January 19, 2012

State Sen. Greg Evers is backing a proposed law that would legalize prayer at special school events such as graduation.

It's an effort a lawyer who has battled school prayer in Santa Rosa County calls meaningless "political theater."

Evers, R-Baker, is co-sponsoring a bill that would em-power school boards to adopt policies "allowing the use of an inspirational message, including prayers of invocation or benediction, at secondary school commencement exercises or any other noncompulsory student assembly."

The legislation specifies that "the purpose of this act is to provide for the solemnization and memorialization of secondary school events and ceremonies, and this act is not intended to advance or endorse any religion or religious belief."

The proposal — known as Senate Bill 98 — was authored by Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando.

"It gives people an opportunity to exercise their first amendment right in a manner as they see fit," Evers said. "I believe the bill is constitutional."

Benjamin Stevenson, the staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, disagrees.

"Laws cannot declare unconstitutional practices constitutional. What this law appears to be is political theater," Stevenson said. "Legislators will score political points at the expense of school boards that actually implement such a policy and are left to defend it in court."

Stevenson represented the ACLU in a 2008 civil suit against the Santa Rosa County School District regarding religious activities at Pace High School.

Evers predicts the bill will pass with bipartisan support. It already easily passed the education and judiciary committees. The bill is set to be considered by the Rules Committee on Monday, the last stop before consideration by the full Senate.

House Bill 317 mirrors the Senate effort.

Impact on decree

Evers' constituency — Senate District 2 — includes Pace High School.

The ACLU filed the 2008 lawsuit on behalf of two Pace students who complained about the long-standing practice of teachers and other faculty members leading prayer and promoting Christian religious practices on school property and at school-sanctioned events.

In 2009, the ACLU reached a 22-page agreement with the Santa Rosa district to discontinue administration-promoted religious activities at Pace High. That agreement — called a "consent decree" — ended the litigation.

Stevenson said he doesn't think Evers' bill would have had any impact on that suit.

"This is a big-government approach to telling school boards what they can or cannot do," he said. "Simply because the Florida Legislature thinks its constitutional or a grand idea, doesn't mean it passes muster under the First Amendment."

Paul Green, the school district's attorney, has not studied Evers' bill and would not comment on it specifically. Generally, however, such issues can be difficult, he said.

"The separation of church and state versus the freedom of speech and association "» when you try to counter one against the other, and where one stops and another starts, it can be challenging."

Limits on prayer

The consent decree became an issue for graduation at Pace High in 2009, when a policy instituted in light of the decree prohibited the student body president from speaking at commencement. The president was selected with the input of school faculty and, if she referenced religion or prayed, that school-endorsed speech might have violated the consent decree.

"Our district has specific guidelines for the students to first determine if they wish to have a volunteer student speaker for graduation, and then a vote on who the speaker will be," Green said. "The speech is not reviewed by staff. Some student speakers include a prayer, and some don't."

The Santa Rosa policy is similar to one in Duval County that was found constitutional by a federal appeals court, Green said.

Hannah Jones, president of Pace High's Student Government Association, said she believes prayer should be used sparingly at school events.

"A lot of us are very passionate about our religion," said Hannah, a 17-year-old senior. "From all that's happened, we've kind of swayed more to keeping our religious thoughts to ourselves. I don't believe we should voice our religious opinions at every event."

Prayers might be appropriate at events like a senior banquet or a reception, or a baccalaureate service — which is not a school function, she said.

"Personally, I don't think prayer is necessary at a graduation," Hannah said. "Granted, it's a time of celebration, but I don't think graduation would be a time to voice your religious opinions."

What will it change?

Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, who said he has read Evers' bill, declined to comment.

Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said he doesn't think Evers' bill would change much.

"Students are allowed to pray, if they do it of their own free will and volition, and they're not influenced by staff or teachers or principals," Thomas said.

Escambia took note of the problems Santa Rosa had with school prayer, he said.

"We took a hard look at the case law and the actual law, and we learned that the best position to take is to put it in the hands of the kids," he said.

That holds true for Escambia graduation, too.

"I have had a valedictorian who is going to give a speech at graduation, say, 'Before I speak I am going to give a little prayer.' That student did that on his own. We don't monitor the content. ... They have free speech rights. If they wanted to exercise that in a prayer, they could."