Church & State

Learn more about the relationship between religion and schools–including the separation of church and state and issues of religious freedom
Shomari Jones, Director of Equity and Strategic Engagement for the Bellevue School District, at his office on Monday, May 23, 2022, in Bellevue, Wash.
Shomari Jones, director of equity and strategic engagement for the Bellevue, Wash., school district, explains why he thinks schools should teach about all religious beliefs.
Jovelle Tamayo for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Q&A Talking About Religion Is Hard. This District Leader Says Schools Should Do It Anyway
The Bellevue, Wash., district leader emphasizes that students need to be prepared to navigate a multicultural world.
Alyson Klein, December 12, 2022
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6 min read
Southlake parent Sravan Krishna attempted to donate "In God We Trust" posters during an Aug. 29, 2022, school board meeting.
Southlake parent Sravan Krishna attempted to donate "In God We Trust" posters during an Aug. 29, 2022, school board meeting.
Carroll Independent School District via TNS
Equity & Diversity Texas School District Rejects ‘In God We Trust’ Signs Featuring Rainbows, Arabic
Under a new law, Texas public schools are required to hang posters emblazoned with “In God We Trust” if someone donates a poster.
Talia Richman, The Dallas Morning News, August 30, 2022
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2 min read
Scales of justice and Gavel on wooden table and Lawyer or Judge working with agreement in Courtroom, Justice and Law concept.
Pattanaphong Khuankaew/iStock
Law & Courts Court Backs Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Clash Over School LGBTQ Bias Policy
A federal appeals court said the San Jose, Calif., school district applied its anti-discrimination policy inconsistently.
Mark Walsh, August 29, 2022
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4 min read
Globe with two ethnic characters holding symbolism for various world religions.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Law & Courts Why Some Religious Groups Worry After Supreme Court Sided With Praying High School Coach
Concerns arise about equal treatment of students and employees from minority religious groups after a ruling on a Christian coach's prayers.
Evie Blad, June 28, 2022
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5 min read
Joe Kennedy, a former assistant football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Wash., poses for a photo March 9, 2022, at the school's football field. After losing his coaching job for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer with players and spectators on the field immediately after football games, Kennedy will take his arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, April 25, 2022, saying the Bremerton School District violated his First Amendment rights by refusing to let him continue praying at midfield after games.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of former Bremerton (Wash.) High School assistant football coach Joseph A. Kennedy that his post-game prayers were protected by the First Amendment.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Says High School Coach's Post-Game Prayers Protected by the First Amendment
The decision could have enormous practical consequences for school districts and their supervision of teachers and other employees.
Mark Walsh, June 27, 2022
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9 min read
Image of the Supreme Court.
iStock/Getty
Law & Courts Supreme Court Strikes Down Maine's Exclusion of Religious Schools From Tuition-Aid Program
The justices hold that barring "sectarian" schools from the program for towns without public high schools violates the First Amendment.
Mark Walsh, June 21, 2022
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7 min read
The Supreme Court in Washington, Dec. 3, 2021. The Supreme Court has turned away a plea from parents to block a new admissions policy at a prestigious high school in northern Virginia that a lower court had found discriminates against Asian American students.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Dec. 3, 2021.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Conservatives’ Checklist: U.S. Supreme Court Education Decisions to Overrule
Here are five education issues that could be targets for reconsideration if Roe v. Wade falls.
Mark Walsh, May 11, 2022
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3 min read
supreme court SOC
Getty
Law & Courts Leaked Abortion Draft Has Supreme Court Education Cases in Political Cross-Hairs
Conservatives have taken aim at decisions on educating immigrants, race in admissions, and religion. Liberals have some cases in mind, too.
Mark Walsh, May 10, 2022
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8 min read
Coach Joseph Kennedy outside the Supreme Court after oral arguments in his case. Sending one more pic of the lawyers on the other side in a moment.
Former Bremerton, Wash., High School football coach Joseph A. Kennedy addresses the media outside the U.S. Supreme Court after April 25 oral arguments in his case.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Law & Courts Key Takeaways From Praying-Coach Case While Supreme Court Deliberates
There's plenty to unpack from the lengthy questioning in a case that could alter the First Amendment landscape for schools.
Mark Walsh, April 27, 2022
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5 min read
Bremerton assistant football coach Joe Kennedy, recently placed on administrative leave due to his prayers on the football field after games, listens to the national anthem from the stands at Memorial Stadium in Bremerton, Wash. on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.
Joseph A. Kennedy, a former Bremerton High School football coach, listens to the national anthem from the stands in 2015 after being placed on administrative leave for praying on the field after games in Bremerton, Wash. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in his case to regain his job this week.
Lindsey Wasson/The Seattle Times via AP
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Signals Support for Football Coach's Public Prayers
The case has major implications for the free speech and religious expression of public school educators.
Mark Walsh, April 25, 2022
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6 min read
In this Oct. 16, 2015 file photo, former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy, obscured at center, is surrounded by Centralia High School football players in Bremerton, Wash., after they took a knee with him and prayed following their game against Bremerton.
Then-assistant football Coach Joseph A. Kennedy of Bremerton High School in Washington is surrounded by Centralia High School football players as they prayed following their game against Bremerton.
Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP
Law & Courts Coach Prayer Case Raises Big Free Speech, Religious Rights Questions for Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether the First Amendment protects public post-game prayers by a coach.
Mark Walsh, April 20, 2022
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11 min read
Image of a gavel.
Marilyn Nieves/E+
Curriculum Calif. Deletes Popular Affirmation From Curriculum After Suit Claims It's an Aztec Prayer
This lawsuit is one of the first major legal challenges to the state's model ethnic studies curriculum.
Kristen Taketa, The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 19, 2022
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3 min read
Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy is in a conflict with the Bremerton, Wash., school district over his silent prayer after games.
Former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joseph A. Kennedy stands at on the 50-yard line at Bremerton Memorial Stadium. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal over his dismissal for praying after football games.
Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Hear Case of Coach Who Prayed After Games in Defiance of School District
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether school districts may prohibit private religious expression by public school employees.
Mark Walsh, January 14, 2022
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4 min read
From left, Amy and Olivia Carson pictured outside Bangor Christian School in Bangor, Maine on Nov. 5, 2021.
Amy Carson, left, and her daughter, Olivia, stand outside Bangor Christian Schools in Maine in November, before their case went before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Linda Coan O’Kresik for Education Week
Law & Courts Religious Schools and State Aid: What to Glean From a Lively Supreme Court Argument
Justices seem skeptical about Maine's exclusion of religious schools from tuition aid for students in towns without public high schools.
Mark Walsh, December 8, 2021
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8 min read
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