Resources

Resources

• Public Aid to Religious Schools: U.S. Supreme Court Cases [PDF 48,185kb]
  Comprehensive chart of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on issues related to public aid to religious schools.
  
• First Amendment Center Publications
  NSBA has worked with several religious and civil rights organizations in support of a series of publications that provide districts with guidance.
  
• Student Religious Rights: Survival Tips for School Boards [PDF 4,039,731kb]
  Practical advice, rather than legal analysis, for school boards about handling controversies and avoiding litigation over student religious rights, including free speech. Published by Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
  
• Controversies over religious holidays bedevil the nation’s schools [HTML 33,139kb]
  This entire issue of NSBA’s free weekly school law e-newsletter focuses on controversies related to religious holidays in the nation’s schools. The issue links to other resources and illustrates the variety of legal and political hazards confronting educators and school boards on these issues.
  
• Inside School Law Update - Spring 2003 [HTML 8,655kb]
  Additional resources on federal guidance and case law on school prayer as discussed in the Spring 2003 issue of Inside School Law.
  
• Important Court Decisions on Prayer in Public Schools [HTML 10,273kb]
• February 7, 2003 -- School Prayer Guidance [HTML 27,751kb]
  Guidance from the Department of Education on the constitutionally-protected prayer requirements of No Child Left Behind.
  
• Religious materials distribution chart [DOC 155,648kb]
  Compilation of federal court decisons regarding in school distribution of religious materials.
  
• Department of Education Guidelines on Religion in Schools
  NSBA worked with the Department of Education and supported its 1998 guidelines on religion in schools
  
• BridgeBuilders
  BridgeBuilders is a non-profit organization that specializes in helping polarized groups in education, business and society, communicate past their differences and design mutually beneficial solutions that not only resolve the conflict, but also rebuild the fabric of their community. The organization has helped school boards and communities find common ground on divisive issues.
  
• The American Civil Liberties Union
  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
  
• First Amendment Center
  The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C., is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and works to preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and education. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.
  
• Americans United for Separation of Church and State
  Americans United for Separation of Church and State adovcates for separation of church and state in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures.
  
• The American Center for Law & Justice
  The ACLJ engages in litigation, provides legal services, renders advice and counsels clients, and supports attorneys who are involved in defending the religious and civil liberties of Americans.
  
• Religion & Public Schools: Striking a Constitutional Balance
  This NSBA Council of School Attorneys publication discusses the latest developments in the law, including the Supreme Court's decisions in Milford, Mitchell, Santa Fe and Agostini. A compilation of articles written by Council members, it focuses on the effect of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment and the constitutional issues surrounding accommodating employee religious beliefs, wearing of religious garb, curriculum content, school prayer/moment of silence, holiday observances, equal access, home schools and much more. 242 pages. Order No. 06-181-W. ISBN 0-88364-244-1(List $35.00, National Affiliates and Council Members $28.00)
  
• American Atheists
  American Atheists promotes separation of state and church and provides information about Atheism.