Some parents and educators would likely be surprised to know that the guidelines allow public schools to teach about religion, including the Bible and other scriptures, the history of religion, the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries, and religious influences on art, music, literature and social studies. They also provide that students may express their own beliefs in the form of homework, artwork and other written and oral assignments. In addition, the guidelines contain information about the Equal Access Act, which was designed to give student religious activities the same access to public school facilities as student secular activities. That law, Boston said, led to the creation of thousands of religious clubs operating on public-school campuses. All are strictly voluntary.
Nobody is required to be there.
That's how it ought to be. John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville, Va., which has defended a number of cases involving religious expression in public schools, said the Equal Access Act has slowly started opening the door to religious activity in educational settings. In the '90s, the shift has been to a little more tolerance for some amount of religion in schools. However, he does not believe the guidelines are a priority with most school officials. As a result, he said, many do not have a good handle on what's allowed and what's not.