SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The Grossmont Union High School District board is considering proposed changes to its policy on religious expression in schools in order to better align with recent Supreme Court rulings.
“This motion is to recognize that students’ education would be incomplete without understanding the role of religion in history,” said Area 3 trustee Dr. Gary C. Woods during Thursday night’s meeting.
There are three different parts to the proposed policy.
The first addresses teacher involvement in student prayer, barring staff from coercing or leading students in religious activities as part of their official duties.
“This to me makes this acceptable and this is why: I don’t want teachers proselytizing in the classroom and I think that existing language until our superintendent worked very hard to try to change some of these things. This I think takes that out,” said Area 1 trustee Chris Fite.
Meanwhile, legal analyst Dan Eaton pointed out that some of the language could lead to legal challenges.
“The right of teachers out of this proposal to encourage students to engage in voluntary prayer where the teacher is not acting in official capacity,” said Eaton.
He added that even though the policy aligns with state and federal laws “the problem is that the devil may very well be in the details as to how this policy is implemented by each teacher, coach or administrator.”
The second part of the proposed policy addresses the rights of parents.
“When it’s required by law, we are going to notify parents and guardians that they have the ability to a written request to opt their students out of curriculum on the basis of religious beliefs as specified by the administrative regulations,” said Woods.
The third part of the proposed policy addresses the use of religious themes or artifacts in connection with instructional or entertainment programs, and not for purposes of indoctrination.
Jay Steiger is a parent and teacher outside the district. He has strong opinions on the proposed policy changes.
“It feels odd. It feels unnecessary. It also feels distracting given that there’s a lot of concern in the community with this board,” he expressed. “There’s a recall going on right now and people have been coming to the board meetings for years saying ‘what’s going on?’ ‘Why are you doing this?’”
The board held discussion and a first reading of the policy Thursday night and plans to bring it back for a vote next month.
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