SchoolLawLibrary - Case Law for Religion in Schools


The information in this document is from School Law and Public Education Sixth Edition by Nathan Essex
Timeline of Religion in U.S. Public Schools
Case	Year	Summary of Ruling
Reynolds v. United States	1879	FORMATIVE CASELAW- Separation of Church and State under the First Amendment. This applies at a federal level.
Scopes v. State	1927	Theory of Evolution
Cochran v. Louisiana State Board of Education	1930	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Cantwell v. Connecticut	1940	FORMATIVE CASELAW- Seperation of Church and State under the Fourteenth Amendment. This applies at a state level.
Harfst v. Hoegen	1942	Use of Religious Garb by Teachers
Emerson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing	1947	FORMATIVE CASELAW- Schools can neither aid nor inhibit religion. The state must stay nuetral.
People of the State of Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education of District No. 71	1948	Religious Activities and Holiday Programs
Zorach v. Clauson U.S. Supreme Court	1952	Release Time for Religious Instruction
Tudor v. Board of Education of Borough of Rutherford	1953	Distribution of Religious Materials
Engel v. Vitale	1962	FORMATIVE CASELAW- Sponsored Prayer- ruled it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools.
Lawrence v. Buchmuller	1963	Religious Displays-
School District of Abington Township v. Schempp; Murray v. Curlett	1965	School-Sponsored Prayer
Epperson v. Arkansas	1968	Theory of Evolution
Lemon v. Kurtzman	1971	FORMATIVE CASELAW- This case established the Lemon Test which determines that a government action must meet the three prongs in order to not violate the establishment clause: (1) The statute must have a secular legislative purpose. (Also known as the Purpose Prong) (2) The principal or primary effect of the statute must not advance nor inhibit religion. (Also known as the Effect Prong) (3) 3The statute must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion. (Also known as the Entanglement Prong)
Lemon v. Kurtzman	1971	Prayer at School Events-
Solan v. Lemon	1973	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Meek v. Pittenger	1975	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Elod v. Burns	1976	Teaching Bible in Public Schools
Meltzer v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange County	1978	Distribution of Religious Materials
Florey v. Sioux Falls School District	1979	Religious Activities and Holiday Programs
Wiley v. Franklin	1979	Teaching Bible in Public Schools
Ring v. Grand Folks School Districe No. 1	1980	Ten Commadments Displayed at Schools-
Stone v. Graham	1980	Ten Commadments Displayed at Schools-
Stone v. Graham	1980	Teaching Bible in Public Schools
Palmer v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago	1980	Religious Freedoms Involving Teachers
Lanner v. Wimmer	1981	Release Time for Religious Instruction
Mueller v. Allen	1983	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Lynch v. Donnelly	1984	FORMATIVE CASELAW- This case created the Endorsement Test that says that certian government actions can function as an endorsment of religion to a reasonalble observer. State institutions, including schools should not endorse religion. Instead they should be neutral.
Wallace v. Jaffree	1985	Silent Prayer of Meditation
Aguilar v. Felton	1985	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Agostini v. Felton	1985	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
School District of the City of Grand Rapidsv. Ball	1985	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Bender v. Williams Sport	1986	Use of School Facilities by Student Religious Groups-
May v. Evansville	1986	Religious Rights of Teachers
Hysong v. Evansville	1986	Use of Religious Garb by Teachers
Edwards v. Aguillard	1987	Theory of Evolution
Wallace v. Washoe County District	1988	Use of School Facilities by Outside Religious Groups-
County of Allegheny v. ACLU	1989	FORMATIVE CASELAW- This case created the Coercion Test which states that the establishment clause is not broken unless the state provides direct aid to a religion. This aid can be creating a situation where those outside the religion are seen as the 'other' and it detrimentlay affects them in the community.
Jager v. Douglas County School District	1989	Prayer at School Events-
Mergens v. Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools	1990	Use of School Facilities by Student Religious Groups-
Gregoire v. Centennial School District	1990	Use of School Facilities by Outside Religious Groups-
Sands v. Morongo Unified School District	1991	Prayer at School Events-
Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District	1992	Prayer at School Events-
Clark v. Dallas Independent School	1992	Use of School Facilities by Student Religious Groups-
Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches School District	1993	Use of School Facilities by Outside Religious Groups-
Ingebrestsen v. Jackson Public School District	1994	School-Sponsored Prayer
Adler v. Duval County School Board	1994	Prayer at School Events-
Washegesic v. Bloomindael Public Schools	1994	Religious Displays-
Johnso-Loehner v. O'Brien	1994	Distribution of Religious Materials
Schanou v. Lancaster County School District No. 116	1994	Distribution of Religious Materials
Bronx Household of Faith v. Community Schhol District No. 10	1997	Use of School Facilities by Outside Religious Groups-
Gibson v. Lee County Board of Education	1998	Teaching Bible in Public Schools
Holloman v. Harland	1999	Prayer at School Events-
Coles v. Cleveland Board of Education	1999	Prayer at School Board Meetings-
Freiler v. Tangipachoa Parich Board of Education	1999	Theory of Evolution
Good News Club v. Milford Central School	1999	Use of Religious Garb by Teachers
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Jane Doe	2000	Prayer at School Events-
Chandler v. Siegelman	2000	Prayer at School Events-
Mitchell v. Helms	2000	Aid to Parochial/ Religious Schools-
Galloway v. Town of Greece	2002	Prayer at Legislative Meetings-
Newdow v. United States	2002	Pledge of Allegiance
Hansen v. Ann Arbor Public Schools	2003	Prayer at School Events-
Nichol v. Arin Intermediate Unit 28	2003	Use of Religious Garb by Teachers
Bannon v. School District of Palm Beach County	2004	Prayer at School Events-
Tyler Chase Harper v. Poway Unified School District	2004	Prayer at School Events-
Nixon v. Northern Local District Board of Education	2005	Prayer at School Events-
McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky	2005	Ten Commadments Displayed at Schools-
Van Orden v. Perry	2005	Ten Commadments Displayed at Schools-
Selman v. Cobb County School District	2005	Theory of Evolution
Golden v. Rossford Exempted Village District School Dist.	2006	Use of School Facilities by Student Religious Groups-
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District	2006	Intellegent Design-- ID curriculum does not pass the Lemon test
Weibaum v. City of Las Cruces, New Mexico	2008	Religious Displays-
Truth v. Kent School District	2009	Use of School Facilities by Student Religious Groups-
Nurre v. Whitehead	2009	Religious Activities and Holiday Programs