IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 662 
Expressing support for prayer at school board meetings. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2012 
Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Mr. WEBSTER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. 
WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. 
GINGREY of Georgia, Mr. HARRIS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BUCHANAN, 
Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. 
HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. JONES, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. PITTS, 
Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. 
GOHMERT, Mr. WEST, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. CARTER, 
Mr. OLSON, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. AKIN, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. MILLER of 
Florida, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. FLEMING, and Mr. SCALISE) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for prayer at school board meetings. 
Whereas the freedom to practice religion and to express reli-
gious thought is a fundamental and unalienable right 
guaranteed under the United States Constitution; 
Whereas the United States was founded on the principle of 
freedom of religion and not freedom from religion; 
Whereas the framers intended that the First Amendment to 
the Constitution would prohibit the Federal Government 
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•HRES 662 IH 
from enacting any law that favors one religious denomi-
nation over another, and protect not prohibit the mention 
of religion or reference to God in civic dialogue; 
Whereas in 1983 the Supreme Court of the United States 
held in Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783, that the prac-
tice of opening sessions of legislative bodies and other de-
liberative public bodies with prayer is so deeply embedded 
in the history and tradition of the United States that it 
has become part of the fabric of society, and invoking di-
vine guidance on a public body entrusted with making the 
laws is not a violation of the Establishment Clause of the 
First Amendment, but rather is simply a tolerable ac-
knowledgement of beliefs widely held among the people of 
the Nation; 
Whereas voluntary prayer in legislative and other deliberative 
bodies should not be limited to prayer in the United 
States Senate and House of Representatives and State 
legislatures; 
Whereas school boards are deliberative public bodies of 
adults, akin to a legislature, in that they are predomi-
nantly elected by the people, act in the public interest, 
and hold sessions that are open to the public for vol-
untary attendance; 
Whereas the nature of school boards as deliberative public 
bodies, akin to a legislature, is further established by the 
fact that they enact policies and regulations that are 
given the force of law in managing and supervising the 
schools within their realm of governance, similar to stat-
utes and ordinances enacted by Federal, State, and other 
local deliberative public bodies to regulate the areas with-
in their purview; 
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•HRES 662 IH 
Whereas the nature of school boards as deliberative public 
bodies, akin to a legislature, is not altered by the pres-
ence of students or any other group of observers, just as 
the nature of the United States Senate and House of 
Representatives and State legislatures as deliberative 
public bodies is not altered although individuals regularly 
attend such legislative sessions for a variety of purposes; 
Whereas the nature of school boards as deliberative public 
bodies, akin to a legislature, is not altered by the location 
at which they hold their sessions, just as the nature of 
the United States Senate and House of Representatives 
and State legislatures as deliberative public bodies is not 
derived from the location at which those bodies host their 
sessions; 
Whereas the nature of school boards as deliberative public 
bodies, akin to a legislature, is not altered by the subject 
matter of the deliberation, just as the nature of the 
United States Senate and House of Representatives and 
State legislatures as deliberative public bodies is not al-
tered when such bodies spend a substantial amount of 
time legislating on a specific subject matter; and 
Whereas voluntary prayer by a deliberative public body 
should be protected under law and encouraged in society 
because voluntary prayer has become a part of the fabric 
of this society, voluntary prayer acknowledges beliefs 
widely held among the people of the Nation, and the Su-
preme Court of the United States has held that it is not 
a violation of the Establishment Clause for a public body 
to invoke divine guidance: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 662 IH 
(1) recognizes that school boards are delibera-
tive public bodies, and should be free to engage in 
prayer at the beginning of meetings; 
(2) recognizes that school boards are delibera-
tive public bodies, and should be free to engage in 
prayer at the beginning of meetings consistent with 
the prayer practice upheld in Marsh v. Chambers; 
(3) recognizes that prayer before school board 
meetings is a protected act in accordance with the 
fundamental principles upon which the Nation was 
founded; and 
(4) expresses support for the voluntary practice 
of prayer at the beginning of meetings of legislative 
bodies and other deliberative public bodies, including 
school board meetings. 
Æ 
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