A Field for the Harvest "The harvest is plentiful" Matthew 9:37 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS (Dist. 66) et al. v. MERGENS, by and through her next friend, MERGENS et al. Sharing the Good News in the Public High School CASE P.O. Box 450349 Atalnta, Ga. 30345 On June 4th, 1990, the Surpreme Court, in a landmark descision, held that Bible Clubs and Prayer Groups can meet on public high school campuses. This case interpretes the Equal Access Act which Congress passed to insure that high school students were not discriminated againist in the public schools because of their religious beliefs. The following is a brief look at what the Surpreme Court decision means to the American Christian. The Surpreme Court's decision in Mergens is a chance for students to share the gospel with their peers. It is also a sign of the times. Changes are occuring around us daily. The Gospel cannot be stopped. The Surpreme Court decision is an answer to the prayers of God's people across our nation and our world. This 8 - 1 decision is a clear message to the country that the time is ripe for action. Q. WHAT DOES A SURPREME COURT DECISION MEAN? A. A Surpreme Court decision has several meanings in our system of government. The one we are concerned with is the decision's effect on our laws as they affect public high schools. A decision is binding on all lower courts, both federal and state. This means that they must follow the Surpreme Court's ruling when the facts are similar. There is no appeal from the Surpreme Court. When the Surpreme Court rules in a case, it becomes the law of the land. Q. WHAT DID THE SURPREME COURT SAY IN THE BIBLE CLUB CASE? A. In the Bible Club Case, Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens (Mergens), the Surpreme Court ruled that public secondary schools that received federal funds and allow non - cirriculum related clubs to meet on campus must allow Bible Clubs (Bible Clubs also include Prayer Groups) to meet on campus during non - instructional time. The way that our educational system is set up almost all public secondary schools receive federal funds. This means that if the school has clubs that are allowed to meet on campus that are not a part of part of a class that is being taught, or not directly related to a school class, then the school must allow your Bible Club the same privelege. In other words, the school must give the Bible Clubs or Prayer Groups offical recognition on campus. If the school allows service type clubs, such as Interact, Zonta, and 4 - H, or clubs like a chess club, it must allow Bible Clubs. Q. CAN THE BIBLE CLUB ADVERTISE ON CAMPUS? A. YES! Once the Bible Club is offically recognized, it must be allowed to use the public address system, the school bulletin boards, the school newspaper, and take part in Club Fairs. Thus, the students can use any form of media available to the other clubs to get the message to the rest of the school. Q. DOES THIS MEAN THAT STUDENTS CAN NOW START OR ATTEND A BIBLE CLUB IN THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOL? A. YES! The Surpreme Court has opened the door for student- initiated Bible Clubs. The church cannot enter the school and start an outreach program. Students, however, can now begin their own Christian clubs which have an agenda the students desire. The schools must allow students thee freedom to actually start or attend their meetings on the high school campuses where the students attend school. Q. DID THE SURPREME COURT LIMIT THE RIGHTS OF BIBLE CLUBS IN ANY WAY? A. NO! The Surpreme Court did not limit the rights of Bible Clubs in any way. Bible Clubs must be treated like any other club in the school with full rights and privledges. The school cannot limit the Bible Club in any way. The Bible Club must be allowed to meet either before school or after school or during a club period with any other clubs. The clubs have a right not only to meet, but also to reach other students with the message that the Bible Clubs are meeting. Q. WHAT RIGHTS DO PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE ON THEIR CAMPUSUS? A. The Surpreme Court decision in 1969, Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District, held that high school students retain their First Ammendment rights of freedom of speech when they are rightfully on a high school campus. The Court held that the students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the "schoolhouse gate." Therefore, school officals cannot stop student speech on campus. The one limitation the Court placed on rights of students is simple -- students must not "materially or substantially disrupt school discipline." Thus, as long as the students do not disrupt the school they have the right to share their faith with friends during non - instructional or out-of-class time. This means that students have the right to discuss religious beliefs with their peers in the hall between classes, at break, at lunch, and before and after school. The nature of public schools does not justify the forfeiture of Constitutional rights. In fact, the nature of public schoold should enhance the Constitutional rights of students and teachers. The school is to teach the student how the laws of the land apply. Q. ARE THE RIGHTS OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LIMITED ON CAMPUS? A. The public high school's mission is to educate students so that they can become productive members of society. When students do not disrupt the mission of the school they have the same rights as other citizens of the United States. Students even have the right to discuss religion during class time, when religion is a relevant topic. Student behavior that is not illegal or disruptive cannot be stopped by the schools simply because the particular message is offensive to school officals. Q. DOES THE CONSTITUTION ACTUALLY REQUIRE THAT THE "SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE" KEEP RELIGION OUT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? A. NO! First, the Constitution never mentions the phrase "seperation of church and state." That phrase was first used by Thomas Jefferson in an address to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, 13 years after the Constitution was written and accepted as the law of the United States. Neither is the phrase recorded in the notes of the Constitutional Convention. The Constitutional does say that: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof(.)" In fact, the Court has said, on numerous occasions, that seperation is impossible. As Justice O'Conner held in speaking for the Court in Mergens, "(I)f a State refused to let religious groups use facilities open to others, then it would demonsatrate not neutrality but HOSTILITY toward religion." Therefore the Constitution does not demand that religion be kept out of our public schools. The Constitution only prohibits school sponsored religious activities. Free Exercise of Religion is our right under the Constitution. Q. CAN STUDENTS BRING THEIR BIBLE TO SCHOOL OR WEAR A CHRISTIAN SHIRT? A. YES! There is no law that prohibits a student from bringing a Bible on campus with him. A student is only bound by an obligation not to "materially or substantially disrupt school discipline." If a student brings his Bible or wears a Christian shirt, the school cannot force the student to remove the shirt or the Bible. Shirts with a message are a form of free speech protected by the First Ammendment. Mergens clarifies that student speech cannot be discriminated againist on campus because of its content. Q. CAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SHARE THEIR FAITH ON THEIR CAMPUS? A. YES! In Mergens, the Court reinforced students' rights to evangelize on the high school campuses. When we combine Mergens and Tinker, we find that students' rights are fully protected. Now students can express their First Ammendment rights and enjoy the freedom of religion on high schools across the country. School officals do not have the right to control student speech just because a particular speech is religious in nature. Students have the right to pass out Christian papers and tracts to their peers on campus. As long as the students do not disrupt school discipline, school officals must allow them to be student evanglist. It was argued that to allow the students to meet on campus and to act as student evangelist would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Ammendment. This arguement was rejected by the Court in Mergens. Thus, Mergens is a great victory for Christian high school students in America. With the decision in Mergens, the Surpreme Court has sent a clear message to the school systems of America. No longer will religious discrimination be tolerated under the guise of "seperation of church and state." Q. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? A. The Mergens case deals with public secondary (grades 9 - 12) schools only. It is interpreting the Equal Access Act which was passed by Congress and concerns high school students. One of the key questions in Mergens was the maturity of high school students as compared to college students. The Court held that high school students were mature enough to distinquish between school sponsored activities and student - initiated activities. The Court has not yet looked to juniour high students' ability to make the same distinction. Q. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? A. Now the battle begins. The Court has given Christians the right to gather together in public schools. We must begin to use the right we have been given, If the Surpreme Court allows us to meet and we fail to meet, what good comes of the right? Like a muscle, our rights must be exercised or they will disappear again. God has opened up a huge mission field. Our missonaries to this field must be high school students. They can reach their generation for Jesus. They need your support. Pray that the Lord will send laborers to work in the fields of the harvest in this hour of great need. God has opened a door. We must walk through it! Q. WHAT IF MY LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL REFUSES TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO MEET OR HAND OUT LITERATURE ON THEIR CAMPUSES IN SPITE OF THE MERGENS DECISION? A. C.A.S.E. is undertaking a national campaign to protect students' freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly. We are going to make sure that the Mergens decision is obeyed by local school boards. We will institute legal proceedings, when they are appropriate to ensure compliance of school boards with the Court holding in Mergens. "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable you servants to speak your word with great boldness." Acts 4:29 As a society to enable the proclamation of the Gospel, Christians Serving Evangelism (C.A.S.E.) is specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. Hence, the purpose of C.A.S.E. is to educate, promulgate, conciliate, and where nessesary, litigate to the end that those rights are protected under law. For additional copies of this pamphlet, or information about C.A.S.E., please write to: P.O. Box 450349 Atlanta, Ga 30345 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This information was typed in by: Amy Hill (Sysop, Christian Friends BBS; Houston,Tx; 713-999-6712) with expressed written consent from Jay Sekulow, general counsel of C.A.S.E.