Religious+Symbols

**__LINKS TO SPECIFIC TOPICS__: ** ** 2. DISPLAYS **  **3.** **FACTORS REGARDING TYPES OF RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS** ** 4. ****__PART OF TEMPORARY HOLIDAY DISPLAY__** ** 5. HALLOWEEN ** ** 6. MASCOTS **  **7.** **__TEACHERS WEARING RELIGIOUS GARB__** ** 8. **** __BOARD POLICY__ ** ** 9. ****__ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS__** ||
 * __SECTION VII: RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS __**
 * **1.** **DISPLAY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS **

**1. ** **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: DISPLAY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS__**
 * United States **** Supreme Court: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Invalidated a state statute in Kentucky requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments, purchased with private contributions, inside public classrooms under the Establishment Clause because it lacked a secular legislative purpose (New York State School Boards Association [NYSSBA], 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Stone v. Graham //, 449 U.S. 39 (1980), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">rehg denied //, 449 U.S. 1104 (1981), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">on remand //, 612 S.W.2d 133 (Ky. 1981)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ruled that framed copies of the Ten Commandments the walls of two Kentucky court houses “were illegal and amounted to an accommodation to religion and a violation of separation of church and state” (Essex, 2012, p. 28).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">McCreary County Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky //, 354 F.3d 438 (2005)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Held that a monument displaying the Ten Commandments erected in 1962, which was located among other secular and educational markers on the grounds of the state capitol, served a less blatant religious purpose and served educational and historical purposes (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Van Orden v. Perry //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 351 F.3d 173 (2005)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. __RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: DISPLAYS__ **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">United States ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Supreme Court: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Allowed the display of religious symbols as part of a display on town property that acknowledged cultural aspects of a holiday (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Lynch v. Donnelly //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 465 U.S. 668, //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">rehg denied //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 466 U.S. 994 (1984)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal Appellate Courts (outside New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Ruled that a school district violated the Establishment Clause when it displayed for 30 years a portrait of Jesus Christ in the hallway of a public school” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32). Court indicated that its decision would have been different if the school had placed representative symbols of many of the world’s religions on a common wall (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Washegesic v. Bloomingdale Pub. Sch. //, 33 F.3d 679 (6th Cir. 1994), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">cert. denied //, 514 U.S. 1095 (1995)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Upheld use of the city’s seal (three crosses against a mountain backdrop) in a sculpture outside a school districts athletic facility, in a student-created mural,” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32) and on school maintenance vehicles (Essex, 2012, p. 27). This imagery was “based on the city’s history and was not intended to endorse Christianity” and the logo on the vehicle was not used to proselytize (Essex, 2012, p. 27).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Weinbaum v. City of Las Cruces, New Mexico //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 541 F.3d 1017 (10th Cir. 2008)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal District Court ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Ordered a school district to remove a mural depicting a crucifixion that was painted by a former student and displayed on a wall in the school auditorium” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32). According to the court “since the mural was patently religious, it violated the Establishment Clause because impressionable students might assume school sponsorship of religion” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Joki v. BOE Schuylerville CSD //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 745 F.Supp. 823 (N.D.N.Y. 1990)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Ruled that a school district that sold bricks to community members to be placed in a walkway in front of the high school had to allow the placement of bricks with religious messages because disallowance of such bricks would constitute religious viewpoint discrimination” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:32).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Kiesinger v. Mexico Acad. & Cent. Sch. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 427 F.Supp.2d 182 (N.D.N.Y. 2006)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: FACTORS REGARDING TYPES OF RELIGIOUS__** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">__DISPLAYS__ **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cited by the **United States Supreme Court** to determine what types of displays pass scrutiny under the Establishment Clause (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, § 36:33):
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Location of the display
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Part of a larger configuration that includes nonreligious items
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Religious intensity of the display
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shown in connection with a general secular holiday
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Degree of public participation in the ownership and maintenance of the display
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Existence of disclaimers of public sponsorship


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">United States ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Supreme Court: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Found that a nativity scene inside a county courthouse by itself violated the separation of church and state” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:33). However, the “display of a large Christmas tree and a Hanukkah menorah with the message A Salute to Liberty outside that same county courthouse did not” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:33). “Most notably, the court indicated that a greater level of sensitivity must be exercised with respect to the public schools” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 768, School Law § 36:33).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cnty. of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 492 U.S. 573 (1989)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: PART OF TEMPORARY HOLIDAY DISPLAY__**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">United States ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Supreme Court: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Inclusion of a “nativity scene in a Christmas display, along with a Santa Claus, a Christmas tree, a reindeer, a clown, a teddy bear, and other holiday items, does not violate the Establishment Clause” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:34).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Lynch v. Donnelly //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 465 U.S. 668, //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">rehg denied //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 466 U.S. 994 (1984)
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Elewski v. City of Syracuse //, 123 F.3d 51 (2d Cir. 1997), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">cert. denied //, 23 U.S. 1004 (1998)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">School districts “temporary display of religious symbols associated with religious holidays does not violate the Establishment Clause if the display is not proselytizing in nature and merely acknowledges cultural and historical aspects of the holiday” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:34).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">//Florey v. Sioux Falls Sch. Dist. 49-5//, 619 F.2d 1311 (8th Cir. 1980), //cert. denied//, 449 U.S. 987 (1980)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal Appellate Court (New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not necessary for a school district “to include a cr 裨 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">e in a display including recognized secular symbols of Christmas, even if the display includes a menorah representing Chanukah and a star and crescent representing Ramadan” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:34).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Skoros v. City of New York //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 437 F.3d 1 (2d Cir. 2006)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal District Court ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (New York) **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Village display in a public park of a menorah next to a spot-lighted but unadorned evergreen tree violated the Establishment Clause as it appeared to endorse Judaism” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:34).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ritell v. Village of Briarcliff Manor //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 466 F.Supp2d 514 (S.D.N.Y. 2006)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: HALLOWEEN__**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">United States ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Supreme Court: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Declined to hear a case regarding a school Halloween celebration however, “a Florida state court ruled that the depiction of witches, cauldrons and brooms, and related costumes during a school Halloween celebration did not violate the Establishment Clause” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:35). Court “rejected the argument that use of the symbols and costumes endorsed and promoted Wicca (a religion based on witchcraft and religious principles), after finding that the symbols were not singularly or distinctively religious” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:35). “Although the decision is not binding in New York, it might be persuasive to courts with jurisdiction over the state” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:35).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Guyer v. Sch. Bd. of Alachua Cnty. //, 634 So.2d 806 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 1994), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">cert. ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">denied //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 513 U.S. 1044 (1994)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: MASCOTS__**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Litigation on the issue of school mascots and the religion clauses of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution has been scarce” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36). However, the “focus has been on whether the use of a particular symbol advances religion and violates the separation of church and state” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36).


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal Appellate Courts (outside New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Parents unsuccessfully argued that use and display of a blue devil as the schools mascot violated the Establishment Clause by encouraging devil worship” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36). The court ruled that no reasonable person would think that the school authorities here are advocating Satanism when they use the name and symbol (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Kunselman v. Western Reserve Local SD BOE, //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> 70 F.3d 931 (6th Cir. 1995)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">New York ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> State ****<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Commissioner of Education Appeals: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Determination as to the appropriateness of a school mascot rests with the local school board with such a determination put aside only upon a showing that the board has abused its discretion” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Appeal of Tobin //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, 25 Ed Dept Rep 301 (1986), 30 Ed Dept Rep 315 (1991)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“School districts should examine whether district mascots that are based upon Native American themes are inappropriate or offensive” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 769, School Law § 36:36).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Appeal of DOrazio //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 41 Ed Dept Rep 292 (2002)
 * Memorandum from Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills on //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Public School Use of ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Native American Names, Symbols and Mascots //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">, Feb. 5, 2001
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Appeal of Eurich //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 37 Ed Dept Rep 707 (1998)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: TEACHERS WEARING RELIGIOUS GARB__**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal Appellate Courts (outside New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Struck down a school’s prohibition against teachers’ religious garb as violating the Title VII prohibition against employment discrimination on the basis of religion and the duty to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s religious practices” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 770, School Law § 36:37). “Therefore in order to continue to ban religious garments, a school district may have to show that an accommodation of the teacher’s wishes would cause undue hardship to the district” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 770, School Law § 36:37).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">United States v. BOE. for Sch. Dist //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">., 911 F.2d 882 (3d Cir. 1990)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Federal District Courts (New York): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Upheld the right of a prison guard who was a Native American and practitioner of the traditional religion of the Mohawk Nation to wear long hair, because it was an important spiritual tenet of his religion” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 770, School Law § 36:37). Therefore, “it is questionable whether the //OConnor// decision is still a valid legal precedent” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 770, School Law § 36:37).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Rourke v. New York State Dept of Correctional Servs. //, 915 F.Supp. 525 (N.D.N.Y. 1995), //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">modified by, affd by //, 245 A.D.2d 870 (3d Dept 1997)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Court of Appeals (New York State): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Upheld a prohibition against the wearing of religious clothing by teachers as this may unduly influence impressionable students, and that this sectarian influence was unconstitutional” (NYSSBA, 2010, p. 770, School Law § 36:37).
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">O Connor v. Hendrick //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, 184 N.Y. 421 (1906)

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: BOARD POLICY__**

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Board Policy 8334: INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS - RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS **

**Symbols in the Schools** The purpose of using religious symbols should be to teach about religious concepts and traditions, and to convey historical or cultural content, not to promote or celebrate religious concepts, events or holidays. (RandolphCentralSchool District, 2011, Board Policy 8334)

United States Constitution, First Amendment

New York State Constitution, Article XI, Section 4

Equal Access Act, 20 United States Code (U.S.C.)

Sections 4071- 4074

Education Law Sections 1709(1) and (3), 3204(5) and 3210

8 New York Code of Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS: ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS__**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Administrative Regulation 8290R: RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN THE PUBLIC **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> SCHOOLS **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">These regulations have been developed to provide guidance to District staff and students regarding religious expression in the public schools. Guidance beyond the statements in these regulations may be found in four basic principles which would apply to the topic of teaching about religion in schools:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) Is it constitutionally permissible; <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) Is it educationally sound; <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) Is it culturally sensitive; and <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">4) Is it age appropriate? (Allegany-Limestone Central School Board of Education, 2011, Administrative Regulation 8290R)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Student Dress **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Schools enjoy substantial discretion in adopting rules and regulations relating to student dress and school uniforms. Students generally have no federal right to be exempted from religiously neutral and generally applicable school dress rules based on their religious beliefs or practices; however, school may not single out religious attire in general, or attire of a particular religion, for prohibition or regulation. Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages. Religious messages may not be singled out for expression, but rather are subject to the same rules as generally apply to comparable messages. (Allegany-Limestone Central School Board of Education, 2011, Administrative Regulation 8290R)