A New Era for Religious
Liberty in Public Schools
6/13/2025
Matt 18:6 NIV: If anyone causes
one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a
large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the
sea.
Fact:
America’s Public-School
Systems’ policies have become virtually void of any mention of Religion or
Religious Liberty…a policy never intended by our Founding Fathers. After approximately seventy years of deliberate
misinformation regarding the Church/State issues, the Supreme Court finally rectified
this deliberate error of religious discrimination in both the recent Kennedy v.
Bremerton School District and the Carson v. Makin Charter School rulings. Unfortunately, for decades, nearly all
citizens have been deliberately misled into believing that any mention of
religion or of one’s faith is illegal in the public square as well as inside public-school
buildings or grounds and that equal access excluded citizens of faith
government funding.
Today, Spiritual Revival is as Essential Today as was the Great Awakening
Prior to 1776.
1.
Carson
v. Makin School Choice – Maine
A 2022 Supreme Court decision in
Carson v. Makin ruled that if the government provides financial support to parents
of children attending a secular public charter school it must also
provide the same financial support to parents for the financial support
of religious schools.
The U.S. Supreme Court returned
a decision to reverse the unjustly banned families from participating in a government
student-aid program if they chose to send their children to religious schools.
o
Syllabus: https://tinyurl.com/3er35723
o
SCOTUS
blog: https://tinyurl.com/2p92awxh
o
Chalkbeat:
https://tinyurl.com/5n7mhm8c
o
Heritage: https://tinyurl.com/yums2yy6
o
First
Liberty: https://tinyurl.com/yc5f2x7w
2.
Kennedy
v. Bremerton School District
The 2002
U.S. Supreme Court’s 6/3 decision respects the Constitutional Rights of all
public-school students, teachers, and coaches to engage in a brief, personal
prayer in public.
According
to the opinion, “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life
in a free and diverse Republic—whether those expressions take place in a
sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a
bowed head.”
First Liberty response: https://tinyurl.com/2xzezcm4
§
Case Facts: https://tinyurl.com/c5fstd6n
§
Gorsuch’s Opinion: https://tinyurl.com/mskp73wj
The “LEMON TEST” NO LONGER APPLIES!
The Court declared it Unconstitutional;
The establishment clause no longer applies. See Gorsuch’s Opinion for an
explanation https://tinyurl.com/4yzrcj8e
Case overview: https://casetext.com/case/kennedy-v-bremerton-school-dist-1/
The two SCOTUS decisions, (above) provide an opportune
time for public school boards to promote an understanding and influence of
Religious Liberty that our Founding Fathers desired. Because these two cases each received a 6/3 vote,
the time to reinstate Religious Freedom and teach the history of the Bible’s
influence in the formation of the United States is NOW. Furthermore, with the recent huge influx of illegal
migrants from third-world counties, this teaching is more critical than ever to
the future of America.
Following
are just a few examples of how Religious Liberty can be expressed within the
Public School System:
1.
Public school
districts should consider creating a Resolution and related policy acknowledging
Religious Liberty for all Administration, Teachers, Students and Parents,
referencing SCOTUS’ 6/3 decisions in both Kennedy v Bremerton School District
and Carson v Makin.
2.
Develop and update a URL link on the School
District’s and each school’s website entitled: Major Legal Rulings Affecting
Public Schools in the Past Decade with links to related cases and
easily-understood explanations. Advise
all school personnel, teachers, high-school students and parents of the URLs’
existence.
3.
Notify all school personnel, students and
parents of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Religious Freedom in Public
Schools (Kennedy v. Bremerton School District)
https://www.religiousfreedomday.com/
4.
At the
School District’s board meetings,
a.
Begin
each public board meeting with prayer
b.
Following
the Pledge of Allegiance, read the Preamble to the Colorado Constitution.
“We, the
people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler
of the Universe, in order
to form a more independent and perfect government; establish justice; insure tranquillity; provide
for the common defense; promote the general
welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
constitution for the “State of Colorado.”
c.
Board members are
able to begin their public statement with prayer or scripture. Citizens engaged
in public comment must not be discouraged to included religious content.
5.
On the
exterior of every public-school building, post the U.S. Motto, “In God we Trust.”
Follow Texas’ example, which was approved by the Texas Supreme Court. Numerous
other examples exist in other states. Cover cost through donations.
a. AND/OR…Require U.S. Motto be
posted in every classroom, the Teachers’ Lounge, and main entrance to each
school.
6. Instruct all teachers to lead their
classes in the Pledge of Allegiance on the first class of each day The Massachusetts
Supreme Court
ruled that because reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic, rather
than a religious exercise, saying the words “under God” does not discriminate
against atheists. -- May 9, 2014.
7.
Terminate
the employment of School-based Mental Health Counselors
Such counseling usurps
parental responsibility.
Most mental health
counselors are trained to affirm a student’s gender transition.[1]
Such counselors should not
be employing secular counseling methods with children whose parents hold
faith-based or other viewpoints. Matt 18:6
8.
Develop
a process to identify and promptly remove pornographic books in school
libraries. (See https://d20books.com/ )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp_sxx_5cCs
At District level:
1. Post U.S. National Motto
at district entrance.
2. Hang a removable plaque of
the U.S. National Motto, “In God We Trust” permanently on the wall behind
the Board Members’ seats at the start of each board meeting.
3. Start each district school
board meeting with Opening Prayer, in English, by a local pastor or at a
minimum, provide a moment (1 minute) of silence.
4. Post lists of students’
and teachers’ Religious Rights on each school’s website
5. Post list of Teachers’
Religious Rights in each school’s teachers’ lounge/breakroom and on
District’s website [2]
6. Periodically, when there
is a school assembly, or at another appropriate time/location sing the National
Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key
7. Consider eliminating
membership in American Library Association. https://thefederalist.com/?s=Library+Association
8. Allow for Release time for
Religious Instruction
9. Encourage the display of
Christmas (A federal Holiday) to be celebrated.
https://lc.org/newsroom/details/111124-friend-or-foe-christmas-campaign-2024
In Classrooms
1. Affix an 11x17” poster of the
U.S. National Motto in a prominent location in each classroom and on the
district’s website.
2. Post a list of Student Religious Rights in each classroom and
on District’s website, including links to the SCOTUS’ rulings.
3. Begin each day with a one-minute
moment of silence in the first class of the day.
4. Cite “Pledge of Allegiance”
in the first class of the day. Teach the
meaning of the words.
5. Post a framed picture of a
Founding Father with his quote on Education. (a few classrooms may use the word
“Bible.”)
6.
When teaching on the Revolutionary and Civil War, read/sing a couple of
songs sung by the soldiers. Some may
have religious references.
7.
Much
is being said about “Christian Nationalism,” framing it in such a way as to
make it sound conspiratorial. This link below
discusses what it really is. It was on
Tucker Carlson in 2024. https://tinyurl.com/pp2nhjuy https://x.com/RealCandaceO/status/1780001138785288304
Student
Performances (Talent Shows)
1. Students
can express their religious personal religious views in song or poems
https://firstliberty.org/news/school-will-allow-students-to-sing-worship-songs/
Teachers:
1. At the beginning of each
school year, sign acknowledgment of understanding of the Religious Liberty
rights that each teacher and student has. For guidance, review First Liberty’s “Religious
Liberty Protection Kit for Students for Students and Teachers.” https://firstliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Religious-Liberty-Protection-Kit-for-Student-and-Teacher-PDF.pdf
2. Have teachers sign a
document annually, that disavows Colorado’s May 2023 anti-U.S. Teachers Union
Resolution
Graduation
Ceremonies
1. Graduating-class students
must be informed that the school district cannot legally censure a student’s
comments concerning his/her religion or importance of his/her faith..
Valedictorian faith-filled
speech:
(1 Cor. 1:18). Jesus Himself was blunt concerning the consequences
of adhering to His teachings, noting, “You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the
one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
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