H.B. No. 3678
AN ACT
relating to
voluntary student expression of religious viewpoints in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Religious Viewpoints
Antidiscrimination Act" or the "Schoolchildren's Religious Liberties
Act."
SECTION 2. Chapter 25, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. STUDENT EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWPOINTS
Sec. 25.151. STUDENT EXPRESSION. A school district shall treat
a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any,
on an otherwise permissible subject in the same manner the district
treats a student's voluntary expression of a secular or other
viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject and may not
discriminate against the student based on a religious viewpoint
expressed by the student on an otherwise permissible subject.
Sec. 25.152. LIMITED PUBLIC FORUM; SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICY.
(a) To ensure that the school district does not discriminate
against a student's publicly stated voluntary expression of a
religious viewpoint, if any, and to eliminate any actual or
perceived affirmative school sponsorship or attribution to the
district of a student's expression of a religious viewpoint, if any,
a school district shall adopt a policy, which must include the
establishment of a limited public forum for student speakers at all
school events at which a student is to publicly speak. The policy
regarding the limited public forum must also require the school
district to:
(1) provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate
against a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint,
if any, on an otherwise permissible subject;
(2) provide a method, based on neutral criteria, for the
selection of student speakers at school events and graduation
ceremonies;
(3) ensure that a student speaker does not engage in obscene,
vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and
(4) state, in writing, orally, or both, that the student's
speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or
expression of the district.
(b) The school district disclaimer required by Subsection (a)(4)
must be provided at all graduation ceremonies. The school district
must also continue to provide the disclaimer at any other event in
which a student speaks publicly for as long as a need exists to
dispel confusion over the district's nonsponsorship of the student's
speech.
(c) Student expression on an otherwise permissible subject may
not be excluded from the limited public forum because the subject is
expressed from a religious viewpoint.
Sec. 25.153. RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN CLASS ASSIGNMENTS.
Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework,
artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from
discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions.
Homework and classroom assignments must be judged by ordinary
academic standards of substance and relevance and against other
legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school district.
Students may not be penalized or rewarded on account of the
religious content of their work.
Sec. 25.154. FREEDOM TO ORGANIZE RELIGIOUS GROUPS AND
ACTIVITIES. Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs,
"see you at the pole" gatherings, or other religious gatherings
before, during, and after school to the same extent that students
are permitted to organize other noncurricular student activities and
groups. Religious groups must be given the same access to school
facilities for assembling as is given to other noncurricular groups
without discrimination based on the religious content of the
students' expression. If student groups that meet for nonreligious
activities are permitted to advertise or announce meetings of the
groups, the school district may not discriminate against groups that
meet for prayer or other religious speech. A school district may
disclaim school sponsorship of noncurricular groups and events in a
manner that neither favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage
in prayer or religious speech.
Sec. 25.155. ADOPTION OF POLICY. A school district shall adopt
and implement a local policy regarding a limited public forum and
voluntary student expression of religious viewpoints. If a school
district voluntarily adopts and follows the model policy governing
voluntary religious expression in public schools as provided by
Section 25.156, the district is in compliance with the provisions of
this subchapter covered by the model policy.
Sec. 25.156. MODEL POLICY GOVERNING VOLUNTARY RELIGIOUS
EXPRESSION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. In this section, "model policy" means
a local policy adopted by the school district that is substantially
identical to the following:
ARTICLE I
STUDENT EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWPOINTS
The school district shall treat a student's voluntary expression
of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible
subject in the same manner the district treats a student's voluntary
expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an otherwise
permissible subject and may not discriminate against the student
based on a religious viewpoint expressed by the student on an
otherwise permissible subject.
ARTICLE II
STUDENT SPEAKERS AT NONGRADUATION EVENTS
The school district hereby creates a limited public forum for
student speakers at all school events at which a student is to
publicly speak. For each speaker, the district shall set a maximum
time limit reasonable and appropriate to the occasion. Student
speakers shall introduce:
(1) football games;
(2) any other athletic events designated by the district;
(3) opening announcements and greetings for the school day; and
(4) any additional events designated by the district, which may
include, without limitation, assemblies and pep rallies.
The forum shall be limited in the manner provided by this
article.
Only those students in the highest two grade levels of the school
and who hold one of the following positions of honor based on
neutral criteria are eligible to use the limited public forum:
student council officers, class officers of the highest grade level
in the school, captains of the football team, and other students
holding positions of honor as the school district may designate.
An eligible student shall be notified of the student's
eligibility, and a student who wishes to participate as an
introducing speaker shall submit the student's name to the student
council or other designated body during an announced period of not
less than three days. The announced period may be at the beginning
of the school year, at the end of the preceding school year so
student speakers are in place for the new year, or, if the selection
process will be repeated each semester, at the beginning of each
semester or at the end of the preceding semester so speakers are in
place for the next semester. The names of the volunteering student
speakers shall be randomly drawn until all names have been selected,
and the names shall be listed in the order drawn. Each selected
student will be matched chronologically to the event for which the
student will be giving the introduction. Each student may speak for
one week at a time for all introductions of events that week, or
rotate after each speaking event, or otherwise as determined by the
district. The list of student speakers shall be chronologically
repeated as needed, in the same order. The district may repeat the
selection process each semester rather than once a year.
The subject of the student introductions must be related to the
purpose of the event and to the purpose of marking the opening of
the event, honoring the occasion, the participants, and those in
attendance, bringing the audience to order, and focusing the
audience on the purpose of the event. The subject must be
designated, a student must stay on the subject, and the student may
not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent
speech. The school district shall treat a student's voluntary
expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise
permissible subject in the same manner the district treats a
student's voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an
otherwise permissible subject and may not discriminate against the
student based on a religious viewpoint expressed by the student on
an otherwise permissible subject.
For as long as there is a need to dispel confusion over the
nonsponsorship of the student's speech, at each event in which a
student will deliver an introduction, a disclaimer shall be stated
in written or oral form, or both, such as, "The student giving the
introduction for this event is a volunteering student selected on
neutral criteria to introduce the event. The content of the
introduction is the private expression of the student and does not
reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the
school district."
Certain students who have attained special positions of honor in
the school have traditionally addressed school audiences from time
to time as a tangential component of their achieved positions of
honor, such as the captains of various sports teams, student council
officers, class officers, homecoming kings and queens, prom kings
and queens, and the like, and have attained their positions based on
neutral criteria. Nothing in this policy eliminates the continuation
of the practice of having these students, irrespective of grade
level, address school audiences in the normal course of their
respective positions. The school district shall create a limited
public forum for the speakers and shall treat a student's voluntary
expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise
permissible subject in the same manner the district treats a
student's voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an
otherwise permissible subject and may not discriminate against the
student based on a religious viewpoint expressed by the student on
an otherwise permissible subject.
ARTICLE III
STUDENT SPEAKERS AT GRADUATION CEREMONIES
The school district hereby creates a limited public forum
consisting of an opportunity for a student to speak to begin
graduation ceremonies and another student to speak to end graduation
ceremonies. For each speaker, the district shall set a maximum time
limit reasonable and appropriate to the occasion.
The forum shall be limited in the manner provided by this
article.
Only students who are graduating and who hold one of the
following neutral criteria positions of honor shall be eligible to
use the limited public forum: student council officers, class
officers of the graduating class, the top three academically ranked
graduates, or a shorter or longer list of student leaders as the
school district may designate. A student who will otherwise have a
speaking role in the graduation ceremonies is ineligible to give the
opening and closing remarks. The names of the eligible volunteering
students will be randomly drawn. The first name drawn will give the
opening and the second name drawn will give the closing.
The topic of the opening and closing remarks must be related to
the purpose of the graduation ceremony and to the purpose of marking
the opening and closing of the event, honoring the occasion, the
participants, and those in attendance, bringing the audience to
order, and focusing the audience on the purpose of the event.
In addition to the students giving the opening and closing
remarks, certain other students who have attained special positions
of honor based on neutral criteria, including, without limitation,
the valedictorian, will have speaking roles at graduation
ceremonies. For each speaker, the school district shall set a
maximum time limit reasonable and appropriate to the occasion and to
the position held by the speaker. For this purpose, the district
creates a limited public forum for these students to deliver the
addresses. The subject of the addresses must be related to the
purpose of the graduation ceremony, marking and honoring the
occasion, honoring the participants and those in attendance, and the
student's perspective on purpose, achievement, life, school,
graduation, and looking forward to the future.
The subject must be designated for each student speaker, the
student must stay on the subject, and the student may not engage in
obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech. The school
district shall treat a student's voluntary expression of a religious
viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject in the same
manner the district treats a student's voluntary expression of a
secular or other viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject and
may not discriminate against the student based on a religious
viewpoint expressed by the student on an otherwise permissible
subject.
A written disclaimer shall be printed in the graduation program
that states, "The students who will be speaking at the graduation
ceremony were selected based on neutral criteria to deliver messages
of the students' own choices. The content of each student speaker's
message is the private expression of the individual student and does
not reflect any position or expression of the school district or the
board of trustees, or the district's administration, or employees of
the district, or the views of any other graduate. The contents of
these messages were prepared by the student volunteers, and the
district refrained from any interaction with student speakers
regarding the student speakers' viewpoints on permissible subjects."
ARTICLE IV
RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
Students may express the students' beliefs about religion in
homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from
discrimination based on the religious content of the students'
submission. Homework and classroom work shall be judged by ordinary
academic standards of substance and relevance and against other
legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Students
may not be penalized or rewarded on account of religious content.
If a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of a
student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for example, a
psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic standards,
including literary quality, and not penalized or rewarded on account
of its religious content.
ARTICLE V
FREEDOM TO ORGANIZE RELIGIOUS GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES
Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, "see you at
the pole" gatherings, and other religious gatherings before, during,
and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to
organize other noncurricular student activities and groups.
Religious groups must be given the same access to school facilities
for assembling as is given to other noncurricular groups, without
discrimination based on the religious content of the group's
expression. If student groups that meet for nonreligious activities
are permitted to advertise or announce the groups' meetings, for
example, by advertising in a student newspaper, putting up posters,
making announcements on a student activities bulletin board or
public address system, or handing out leaflets, school authorities
may not discriminate against groups that meet for prayer or other
religious speech. School authorities may disclaim sponsorship of
noncurricular groups and events, provided they administer the
disclaimer in a manner that does not favor or disfavor groups that
meet to engage in prayer or other religious speech.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2007-2008 school
year.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote
of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided
by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not
receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes
effect September 1, 2007.
