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P-loB
THB NBW YORK TIMBS, WBDNBSDA Y, NOVBMBBR13, 1996
.
'
Public Help for Parochial Students, at a
Distance
Hiss,
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
If it seems that Bernadine De
Carlo, a public-school social worker
who counsels children at a Roman
Catholic school in the Bronx, has to
act like a spy in a cold war thriller, so
be it She is following Board of Edu
cation orders to maintain the separa
'
tion of church and state.
Because of aJ985 Supreme Court
decision, Ms. DeCarlo cannot teach
her students inside St. Luke's School
in the" Hunts Point section of the,
Bronx. Instead, she uses a neutral
site - a blue and white Board of
,Education van that parks across the
'street from the school each morning.
And so, if on a blustery November
morning, Ms. DeCarlo needs to can
'suit a St. Luke's teacher about, saY,a
12-year-old student's emotional
health, she will set up a stakeout at
the coffee shop down the street
where teachers from St. Luke's buy
their morning cup. Or she will pull up
the blinds on the van window. waiting
to signal a particular teacher when
he or she appears in the schoolyard
across the street.
'
At Holy Innocents School in Flat
bush. her colleague Ymelda Joson, a
teacher of English as a second lan
guage, has a few tricks of her own..
Sometimes, Ms. Joson confided, she
will use her one opportunity to step
,inside the church school: to use the
bathroom at lunchtime and perhaps,
near the sink, consult with a teacher
about why a certain child can't read.
"But very briefly," she was care
ful to point out. "We avoid it, except
,for the call of nature. But during that
,call of nature, we take advantage."
Across the city each school mom
'lng, more than 100 large vans costtna
the Federal Government $110,000 a
year each, including driver,arrtve at
. parochial schools as makeshift c1ase..
rooms, where public-schoo} employ
ees counsel and provide remedial
. math, reading and English as a Sec- '
, ;ond language to impoverished stu
dents. The City provides the lessons
under Federal antipoverty legist.
tion, using Federal funds.
0
0,
Until
Ms. DeCarlo taught in
side the school. The principal set
aside a couple of classrooms and
removed crosses and pictures of
saints from the walls. Ms. DeCarlo
could be easily found in her office by
a child who was angry or anxious or
.acting up in class.
But in 1985, the Supreme Court
found that this was "excessive entan
glement of church and state." Hence,
the vans and Ms. DeCarlo's surVeil
lance missions.
Now educators and officials in
New York City and Washington are
wondering, Is this really what the
Constitution's framers had in mind?
0
0
Nearly all the parties to ttie ar
rangement are unhappy with it - the
Board of Education., the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of New York,
the teachers' union and even the
United States Education Depan
ment. They have asked the Supreme
Court to reconsider its own decision,
known as Aguilar v. Felton; if it did,
the action would be a highly unusual
exception, to the principle that a Su
preme Court ruling is final.
In a brief filed last month with the
Supreme Court. lawyers for New
York City argued that the vans and
various other efforts to maintain
neutral sites had been "less effective
and more expensive" than sending
public school teachers inside paro
chial schools.
The city now delivers remedial
education to about 20,000 parochial
school students. City school offiCials
argue that compliance with the rul
ing is wasting millions of dollars. The
extra cost to the Federal Govern
ment has totaled more than $93 mU
lion from 1986 to 1994, with $84 mil
lion of that spent on vans.
The cost to rent mobile classrooms
and other neutral sites means that
parochial school students receiving
remedial instruction actually get a
larger share of Federal dollars than
their public school counterparts
about $1,180 a child a year, compared
, with $680 for public school students.
','When Title I was first passed, the
idea was that the fundingallocatlon
would be same," said Norman S.'
Fruchter; director of the Institute for
Education and Social Policy at New
York University, who says public
school teachers should be permitted
back inside the parochial schools.
"You woulcln'thave to spend more
on one child than another." '
But Norman Siegel, executive di
rector of the New York Civil LIber
ties Union, supported the Aguilar d~
cision, and said the complaint about
high costs was a smokescreen.
"If they're concerned about mon
ey, you can call for a modified pro
gram that doesn't have teachers
teaching in the vans," he said.
Of parochial school students get
ting remedial instruction, most of
them - about 12,440 this school year .
0
0
0
0
A costly solution,
to a church-state
ruling pleases few.'
- went to class in vans that the
school board leased from New York
Bus Service, a private ,concern that
operates city buses and supplies
school buses for the board. This year,
the vans and drivers alone will cost
more than $12.5 million, according to
the board's Bureau of Nonpublic
School Reimbursable Services.
An additional 1,850 children are
taught in leased buildings nearby,
and 820 more in the handful of public
schools not already overcrowded. Fi
nally, about 9,500 get remedial read
ing and math instruction on BQard of
0
More •••
�PUBLIC HELP, continued. ~,.
Education computers in their par~ j
Sometimes, when the wind was .
chial schools.
.
. fierce or the door slammed. shut, the
On a recent day, Ms. DeCarlo saw
van swayed like a ship atseaInside,
45 children one on one or in small
the steadily· humming generator
groups, separated. from the math
kept this railroad car of a classroom
teacher by a thin plastic divider. This
warm and lighted.
year's class roster includes a tough
Up front, the bus driver perused
ened 13-year-old boy whose mother
his. morning tabloid.....: the playing of
was killed recently, another who is
radios is not allowed - ready to
weary from caring for his sick moth
escort the next batch of children to
er, and countless others who are con~
and from the gates of St. Luke's. At
[used and angry about the poverty
the end of the day, the vans returned
and violence and drugs at home.
to their Bronx parking lot, only to
Cutout pumpkins and posters of
. pull up again forthe next morning's
classes.
Pilgrims decorated the van walls. In
Margo Case's third-grade Class, chil
Ms. DeCarlo and her colleagues
say they have largely adjusted to the
dren read quietly from books in the
van's mini-library, some consulting
trifling inconveniences of exile: lack
ing a bathroom or phone, knowing
a dictionary, others eager to read
that if they wen~ inside, the precious
aloud. In Lee Fettner's math class,
minutes wasted on bundling up and
. fourth graders learned how to calcu
marching over to the van could be
late the area of a square. All the
better spent brushing up onvocabu
students were performing below the
lary or learning the multiplication
20th percentile for their grade level.
.tables.
"There's never any attempt to
proselytize or anything," said Mr.
Fettner, who sees about 60 students a
. week from St. Luke's. "I feel, as an
instructor and a citizen who also
pays taxes, that the concern is a
financial one."
�SOOTH CAROLINA LAWYBJt, Nov. -Deo., 1 9 g,
p.
15
RELIGIONAND
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
.
.
By the Hon. Richard W. Riley
ew legal issues stir emotions .
and cause as much confusion
.
as the role of religion in public.
schools. Both lawyers and school ad
Both lawyers and school
~trators have had difficulty when
fa~ed with the variety of issues that
administrators have hiuI
arise in the public school setting in
difficulty when faced with
this area. In many instances inrecent
. the variety of issues that arise
· times, school administrators have .
· chosen unnecessarily and inappropri- .
in the public school setting
atelyto keep religion completely out
in this area.
of public schools.
In a July 12, 1995 speech on reli
gious liberty in America, President
. The principles are derived mainly
Clinton stated that "the First Amendfrom the First Amendment. They
ment does not require students to '
recog. jze "two basic and equally im..:
leave their. religion at the schoolhouse
portant obligations on public school
door." In the President's succinct
officials in their dealingswith reli- .
words, the First Amendment, "does
gion." The first obligation is that
not convert our schools into religion"schoolsmay not forbid students
free zones." Nevertheless, recognizing
acting on their own from expressing
the controversial and confusing na. their personal religious views or
ture of issues relating to religion in
. beliefs solely because they are.of a
the. public schooLs, the President·
religiOUS nature."
· instructed me as the Secretary of EduSecond, "[alt the Same time,
cation to consult with the Attorney,
schools may not endorse religious
activity or doctrine, nor may they
· .General and issue a statement of prin· ciples concerning religious expression
coerce participation in religious. .
.
and activities in public schools.
activity./I The basic point is neutrality..
At the President's behest; in AuIn the context of pers:onal student·
. gust 1995, I issued and sent to every
expression or activities, religion
school superiritendentin the countrY,
should not be singled out for special
a statement of principles entitled Relilimitations-it should be treated the
gioLls Expression in Public Schools. These
same as other comparable expression
principles were developed with input
or activity in the school. A few ex- .
from many diverse gro1..!ps representamples will illustrate these points~
ing the entire political spectrum arid
More •• •
refleCt a developing consenSus on
many key issues.
F
�RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
continued ••• (2)
STUDENT PRAYER AND
hninistered to discriminate against.
RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION
ligious activity or speech. Schools
One ofthe recurring issues
ay not, however, provide students a
, regarding reiigion in public schools
lptive audience for their religious
concerns student prayer and religious
leech or a means to compel other
discussion. Although the Supreme
. udents to participatem any religious
. Court specifically prohibited state
-ayer or discussion: See, e.g., Herdahl
sponSored classroom prayer over 30
Pontotoc'County School District, No.
years ago in Ellgel u. Vitdle, 370 U.s.
94CV188-B-A (N.D. Miss. June 3,
. -i2l (1962), there is no prohibition
196) (student-led daily prayers over
against purely private religious
\e intercom and in classrooms before
speech by students. The Supreme
, mch are unconstitutional). School
Cburt has recognized that "there is a
fficials should take steps to ensure
crucial difference between gVl'er/.lmellf
lat students are not forced to partici~
speech endorsing religion, which the
ate in any religious activity. School
Establishment Clause forbids, and .
fficials also should not encourage or
priL'ate speech endorsmg religion,
scourage participation in any of .
which the Free Speech and Free Ex
ese activities.
ercise Clauses protect." Board vf Edu
cation of Westside Community Schools v.
TEACHING ABOUT RELIGION
)
.
Mergens, -i96 U.s. 226, 250 (1990)
. There is no prohibition against
(emphasis in original).
.:1001s teaching about religion, but
. Students have the same rights to
ublic schools may not provide reli
,engage in individual prayer or engage
. ious mstruction or advocate religion
in religious discussions during the
. .r a particular religious viewpornt.
.school day as they havewith respect
For example, "the Bible may
to other comparable activities. For
)nstitutionally be used in an appro
example, stUdents may read the Bible, .
riate study of history, civilization,
pray before a meal or test, or discuss
thics, comparative religion, or.the
religion with other students to the .
ke:' Stone I'. Graiulni, 449 U.s. 39,41
same extent that theymay engage in .
·2 (1980) (per curiam); see also Abing
comparable non-disruptive activities.
,m School District l'. Schempp, 374 U.s.
Students also may participate in
)3,225 (1963) ("study of the Bible or
events such as flagpole gatherings for
freligion, when presented objectively
prayer or religious discussions o~ th,e.
; part of a secular program of educa
same terms that other similar actIvItIes
on, mai ... be effected consistently
are allowed.
'ith the First Amendment"). Study
. Although students have signifi
\g the influence of religion.on art,
cant rights to engage in purely pri
lusic and literature also would be
. vate religious prayer and discussions,
schools may impose rules of order
More •• •
and pedagogical restrictions on stu
dent activities that are not designed or
�,s
•
RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
.
, emussl'bI"e. In a similar vein, schools
.
'1ay not celebrate holidays as reli
ious events, but they may teach
bout religiOUS holidays and cele- .
rate the secular aspects of the ~oh
,ays. See, e.g., Clever v. Cherry HIII Tp.
:d. of Edue., 838 F. Supp. 929,938-39
D.N.}.1993).
, '
The basic question is whether a
opic is being intrO<;luced for an educa
ional purpose (e.g., so sh.1dents can
earn 'about various religions) or a
'eligious purpose (e:g., to inculcate a
particular religiOUS viewpoint or to
,celebrate the religious aspects ofa
, holiday). Sh.1dying about Christianitr
(or other religions) and its influencem
history is an allowable ~~ worth- .
while educational pursuit m a public
school; school officials advocating or
endorsing ,the practice of o:nstianity
(or other religions) would Violate the
First Am~ndment.
STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS
Students may choose religiOUS
topics, as long as they are within the
scope of an assignment, and the Sh.1~
dents' work should be judged on the
basis of normal academic standards
and other legitimate, pedagogical con
cerns. A Sh.1dent's workshould not be
, rejected or given a low grade sim~ly
,because of the religious nature of Its
content.
STUDENT GARB
" Religious messages on student
clothing may not be specifically .
singled out and prohibited, but they
are subject to the same rules as gener
ally apply to comparable messages.
With respect to the wearing of attire
that is part of ash.1dent's religious, .
practice, such as a yarmulke for a reli
gious Jewish student, schools ~ener
, ally may not prohibit the weaong of
these iterns. '
continuec! •..
(3) ,
Under the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.s.c.
2000bb et seq., the government (includ:
ing public schools) may not substan
tially burden a person's exercise of
religion unless it can demonstrate a
compelling governmental interest and
" that it has employed the least restric
tive means of furthering that interest.
Under this law, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled
that a local school district could not ,
enforce a policy against possessing
'knives on school property with re- , '
spect to Sikhs who wore c,eremonial ,
knives to school. Cheema v. Thompson,
No. 94-16097 (9th Or. Sept. 21994).
The Ninth Circuit held under the
RFRA that there are less restrictive'
means than the outright prohibition,
of ceremonial knives that would .
serve the school district's interest in
ensuring school safety.
EQUAL ACCESS
TO SCHOOL FACILmES
Sh.1dents are also guaranteed
certain rights under the Equal Access
, Act (EAA), 20 U.S.c. 4071 et, seq. Under
this law; which the Supreme Court
found to be constih.1tional in M&gens,
public secondary schools that receive
federal financial assistance must
provide access to school facilities to
Sh.1dent religious groups on the same
basis as other noncurriculum related
sh.1dent groups.
Therefore, a secondary school re
ceiving federal aid that ,allows one or
more noncurriculum related clubs,
such as a service club or chess club,
to meet on its premises during norun-
More •• •
�RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
structionaltirrie' (including lunch
. periods) cannot deny-the same accesS
to a student religious group su¢ as a
Bible dub. See, e.g., Ceniceros v. San
Diego Unified School District, 66 F.3d
1535(9th Cir. 1995). This right appUes
. even if the student group is conduct
ing a prayer meeting or 9ther worship
service.
The EAA also ensures that stu
dent religious groups have the same
access as other groups to school
media, such as the public address
system, the school newspaper and the
school bulletin board, for publicizing
meetings. See Mergens, 496 U.S. at 247.
Any meeting qualifying under the
EAA must be voluntary and student
initiated and cannot be sponsored by
the school or any of the school's
employees.
With respect to the use of school
facilitiesby outside religious groups,
the same basic principle of neutrality
applies. A school district cannot deny
a religious group access to school
facilities if those facilities are open to
other groups for comparable purposes.
Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches School
District, 113 S.O. 2141 (1993)".
School districts are not obligated
to open their facilities to outside
groups at all; if they do, however,
they cannot deny access to certain
. groups based on their religious nature
or their intended religiOUS use of the
facilities. Also, a school district cannot
charge a higher rental fee to religious
groups than to secular organizations ..
Fairfax Covenant Chllrch v. Fairfax (:ty.
School Board, 17 F.3d703 (4th Cir.), cert.
denied, 114 S. Ct. 2166 (1994).
.
GRADUATION PRAYERS
In Lee v. Weisman, 112 S.O. 2649
(1992), the Supreme Court held that
school officials may not organize or
mandate prayer at public school
continued ...
<.,)
graduation ceremorues. Since that
decision, the issue of student-initiated
graduation prayers hasarisen. Al
though the Supreme Court has not
addressed this issue, a number of
lower courts have done so.
. The Third Circuit and a district
court within the Fourth Circuit have
held that student-initiated graduatio~
prayers are unconstitutional (ACLU of
Nt!'lo Jersey v. Black Horse Pike Regional
B~ard ofEducation, 84 F.3d 1471 (3d
Clr., 1996) (enbanc); Gearson v. LOII
doltn County School Board, 844 F. Supp.
1097 (ED.Va. 1993)). The Ninth
Circuit also ruled that student-initi
ated graduation prayers are unconsti
tutional, but the Supreme Court
vacated the judgment as moot. Harris
. '. Joillt Scllool District No. 241, 41 F.3d
[
447 (9th Cir., 1994), vacated as moot, 115
S.O. 2604 (1995).
.
On the other hand, the Fifth
Circuit has allowed student-initiated
graduation prayers (fones v. Clear Creek
1I1dt!pelldent School District, 977 F.2d
.
963 (5th Cir. 1992), cat. denied, 113
S.O. 2950 (1993)).
.
, Schools. also may not organize or
hold religious baccalaureate ceremo
nies: However, if a school generally .
allows a~cess to its facilities to private
groups, It cannot deny similar access
to organizers of priva-tely sponsored .
religiOUS baccalaureate services. See .
Lamb's Chapel, 113 5.Ct. 2141. Schools
should not give preferential treatment
to baccalaureate ceremonies, ho~ever,
and may in some instances need to
. disclaim any official endorsement of
the ceremonies.
.More •••
It•
�RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS,
continued •••
($f .
.CONCLUSION
The statement of principles can
not answer all the difficult questions
that may arise concerning religion
in public schools. However, it has
been useful to school administrators
throughout the country in answering
basic questions and providing a
framework for analyzing the more
difficult problems.
. The National School Boards
AsSociation has reported that because
of the statement of principles it has re
ceived substantially fewer calls from
. school districts regarding the role of
religion in public schools, and school
districts, such as the St.Louis Public
Schools, have issued or reviSed their
own policies based on the principles.
In addition, the National Con
gress of Parents and Teach~rs has
issued similar guidance for parents
entitled A Parent's GHide to Religion in .
the Public Schools that reflects the
. growing consensus on many of these .
important issues. By emphasizing
both the obligation of school officials
to allow truly private religious speech
in the school setting, while at the . .
same time ensuring that schools do
not endorse or coerce participation in
religious activity, the statement of
principles and similar efforts hope
fully will help to ensure that schools
do not become either vehicles for .
religious coercion or "religion-free
zones."
Richard W. Riley is the United States
Secretary of Education. He also is the
fanner Governor of South Carolina.
�
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Michael Cohen - Subject Series
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Michael Cohen
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<p>Michael Cohen held the position of Special Assistant to the President for Education Policy within the Domestic Policy Council from 1996 to 1999. Prior to being detailed to the White House, he served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education.</p>
<p>This series of Subject Files contains materials relating to education reform, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994), America Reads initiative, bi-lingual education and the ballot initiative in California which proposed to eliminate bi-lingual instruction and limit the amount of time for bi-lingual students to transition to English only, test standards, teachers, tribal schools, school safety and school violence. The records include correspondence, reports, faxes, emails, handwritten notes, schedules, publications, and memoranda.</p>
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Michael Cohen
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2012-0160-S
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Box 17
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/Systematic/2012-0160-S-Cohen.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
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7763316