Constitutional Law
Aug. 8, 2000
Public School Official Occasions Need to Be Secular, Neutral
By Erwin Chemerinsky. For almost 40 years under both liberal and conservative Supreme Courts, the law has been clear: Prayer is not allowed at public school events. Government-mandated or -encouraged prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, decided on June 19, the Supreme Court followed these precedents and declared unconstitutional student-delivered prayers at public-school football games.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
By Erwin Chemerinsky
For almost 40 years under both liberal and conservative Supreme Courts, the law has been clear: Prayer is not allowed at public school events. Government-mandated or -encouraged prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, decided on June 19, the Supreme Court foll...