At the same time, to protect the rights of everyone in the school, the law insists that the school officials themselves refrain from meddling in the religious affairs of students. Parents, not school personnel, are the appropriate persons to decide what religious practices their own children engage in. Imagine the uproar if Grant Joint Union officials were encouraging children to worship according to the Hare Krishna faith, Islam or the Unification Church. Yet just as school personnel are not permitted to promote these faiths, they are not permitted to promote Christianity either. No matter what religion is being promoted, the end result is that the rights of parents are diminished.
Public schools serve youngsters from many different religious backgrounds.
Therefore they must be neutral on religious matters. Allowing a public school employee to pray with students is not neutral. It is the state promoting religion. Unfortunately, some have suggested that Americans United's position amounts to hostility toward religion. That is simply not the case.