A reminder sought on school speech rights

If schoolchildren didn't already know they are free to sing Christmas carols, pray and express their religion in public schools under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Utah Legislature might send them a personal reminder.

SJR9, sponsored by Sen. Parley Hellewell, R-Orem, and introduced Thursday, recognizes those rights and requires a copy of the resolution to be given to all 500,000 or so students enrolled in Utah public schools, plus another copy to their parents.

Hellewell says he'll clarify that schools would decide how to go about that distribution.

The resolution appropriates no money for printing or postage.

SJR9 stems from periodic public discussion about fears of using the word "Christmas" in schools and anecdotes about teachers being afraid to have students sing Christmas carols for fear of being sued, Hellewell said.

"If it comes as a resolution from the Legislature, I think (teachers) will have more confidence. We always have the ACLU . . . scaring everybody, saying you can't pray or we'll sue you," Hellewell said. "The purpose is so everyone has an understanding of what the law is, what (students) can do and what they can't do. . . . I'm trying to keep it from going the other way."

But American Civil Liberties Union Utah executive director Dani Eyer says her organization regularly defends the rights expressed in the resolution.

"We actually are heartened to see the state carefully considering the role of the First Amendment in public schools. The ACLU has a long history of defending precisely these principles in that setting," Eyer said.

"We don't quibble with the concept that students have First Amendment rights including religious liberty, and those First Amendment rights do not end at the school door. . . . (Our) general rule is, we support students' religious liberty and freedom of expression in the school setting, as long as there is not a disruption of the educational process."

The issues addressed in the bill have played out in public discourse and the courts.

A year ago, Granite School District issued a holiday memo reminding school workers government can't endorse religion, though it's appropriate to teach about religion's influence on history, politics and so forth. The idea was to promote sensitivity. But Some teachers felt their Christmas cheer was being silenced.