Vermont H 705: An act relating to the creation of the Student Secular Bill of Rights

Bill Text

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H.705 1
Introduced by Representatives Priestley of Bradford and Sibilia of Dover 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Education; student rights; First Amendment; religious freedom 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create a 6
Student Secular Bill of Rights to protect a student’s right to practice or not 7
practice any religion the student chooses on school grounds and to be free from 8
school-sponsored religious teachings. This bill requires the Agency of 9
Education to develop a model student secular rights policy and school districts 10
and schools to adopt a policy at least as stringent as the Agency’s model 11
policy. This bill also creates a private right of action for violation of the 12
Student Secular Bill of Rights. 13
An act relating to the creation of the Student Secular Bill of Rights 14
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 15
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 16
This act may be cited as the “Student Secular Bill of Rights.” 17
Sec. 2. FINDINGS 18
The General Assembly finds that: 19

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(1) The separation of religion and government is a cornerstone of 1
American jurisprudence, recognized foremost in the First Amendment to the 2
U.S. Constitution and in all 50 of the states’ constitutions. 3
(2) Protecting religious freedom and conscience rights serves students of 4
all faiths and none, ensuring that no student is compelled to participate in 5
religious exercises against the student’s beliefs or nonbeliefs. 6
(3) In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson, an original supporter of the 7
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, alongside primary author James 8
Madison, described the First Amendment as “building a wall of separation 9
between church and state.” 10
(4) The U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1947 case Everson v. Board 11
of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 18 (1947), that, “The First Amendment has erected a 12
wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. 13
We could not approve the slightest breach.” 14
(5) The Supreme Court also declared in the same case that the 15
Establishment Clause “means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal 16
Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one 17
religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another...No tax in any 18
amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or 19
institutions...Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or 20
secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups, and 21

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vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of 1
religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between Church and 2
State.’” (Id. at 15-16). 3
(6) Democrats and Republicans alike, united in dedication to America’s 4
founding principles, have recognized the indispensable principle of separation 5
between church and state, with President Ronald Reagan saying in 1984 that, 6
“We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we 7
mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, 8
separate.” 9
(7) All persons have the fundamental and inalienable right to worship, 10
or not, according to the dictates of their own conscience, free from 11
governmental influence or interference, provided their practices do not excuse 12
acts of lawlessness, or justify practices inconsistent with the order, peace, or 13
safety of the state, or the rights of others. 14
(8) The U.S. Supreme Court has addressed the First Amendment in an 15
education context in several cases, including: 16
(A) In the 1948 decision McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 17
203, 211 (1948), the Court held that a “released time” program in public 18
schools, where religious instruction was provided by outside teachers during 19
school hours, violated the Establishment Clause because using public school 20
facilities and resources to “aid any or all religious faiths or sects in the 21

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dissemination of their doctrines and ideals” constituted an unconstitutional 1
endorsement of religion. 2
(B) In the 1962 decision Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), the 3
Court held that prayer composed by the state and recited over the intercom in 4
public schools violates the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause. 5
(C) In the 1968 decision Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968), 6
the Court held that a state law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public 7
schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because the 8
law was enacted to advance a particular religious viewpoint, constituting 9
government endorsement of religion. 10
(D) In the 1980 decision Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39, 4