By: Howard of Fort Bend H.B. No. 3678
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to voluntary student-initiated expression of religious
viewpoints in public schools.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.904 to read as follows:
       Sec. 25.904.  STUDENT EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWPOINTS.
       (a)  A school district shall treat student expression of
religious viewpoints in the same manner as the district treats
student expression of secular or other viewpoints, without
discrimination.
       (b)  To assure non-discrimination against a student's
publicly stated voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint (if
any), and to eliminate any actual or perceived affirmative school
sponsorship or attribution to the school district of a student's
voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint (if any), a school
district shall establish a limited public forum for student
speakers at school events in which students are to publicly speak.  
The school district must:
             (1)  provide the limited public forums in a manner that
do not discriminate against a student's voluntary expression of a
religious viewpoint (if any) on otherwise permissible
subjects/topics;
             (2)  provide a method, based on neutral criteria, for
selection of student speakers for school events and for
graduations; and
             (3)  provide that a student speaker may not engage in
obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech.
             (4)  state that the student's speech does not reflect
the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the school
district, and continue to do so for as long as there is a need to
dispel confusion over the non-sponsorship of the student's speech.
       (c)  Student expression concerning permissible
subjects/topics, as determined by school district policy, may not
be excluded on the basis that the subject/topic is expressed from a
religious viewpoint.
       (d)  Students may express their beliefs about religion in
homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from
discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions.  
Students shall neither be penalized nor rewarded on account of
religious content.  Such home and classroom work shall be judged by
ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against
other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.
       (e)  Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs,
"see you at the pole" and other religious gatherings before,
during, and after school to the same extent that students are
permitted to organize other non-curricular student activities and
groups.  Such groups must be given the same access to school
facilities for assembling as is given to other non-curricular
groups, without discrimination because of the religious content of
their expression.  Where student groups that meet for nonreligious
activities are permitted to advertise or announce their meetings,
school authorities may not discriminate against groups who meet for
prayer or other religious speech.  School authorities may disclaim
sponsorship of non-curricular groups and events, provided they
administer such disclaimers in a manner that neither favors nor
disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or religious speech.
       (f)  A school district shall adopt and implement a local
policy regarding the limited public forums and implementation of
the other provisions of this Act.  If a school district voluntarily
adopts and follows the Model Policy Governing Voluntary Religious
Expression in Public Schools ("Model Policy"), the district shall
be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions of this Act
covered by the Model Policy.
       (g)  Definitions.
             (1)  "Model Policy Governing Voluntary Religious
Expression in Public Schools" means a local policy passed by the
district containing the following provisions:
       Student Speakers at Non-Graduation Events:
       The district hereby creates a limited public forum consisting
of an opportunity for a student to speak to introduce school events
such as sports events, assemblies, opening announcements/greetings
for the school day, pep-rallies, and other school events, as
determined by the district.  For each speaker, the district shall
set a maximum time limit reasonable and appropriate to the
occasion.
       The forum shall be limited in the following manner:  (a) Only
those students in the highest two grade levels of the school and who
hold one of the following positions of honor based on neutral
criteria shall be eligible to use the limited public forum: student
council officers, class officers of the highest grade level in the
school, captain(s) of the football team, and other students holding
positions of honor as the district may designate.
       The eligible students shall be notified of their eligibility
and those who wish to participate as an introducing speaker shall
submit their names to the student council or other designated body
during an announced minimum 3 day period.  This announced period may
be at the beginning of the school year, at the end of the preceding
school year so student speakers are in place for the new year, or,
if the selection process will be repeated each semester, at the
beginning of each semester or at the end of the preceding semester
so speakers are in place for the next semester.  The names of the
volunteering student speakers shall be randomly drawn until all
names have been selected, and the names shall be listed in the order
drawn.  Each selected student will be matched chronologically to
the event for which he/she will be giving the introduction. Each
student may speak for one week at a time for all introductions of
events that week, or rotate after each speaking event, or
otherwise, as the district determines.  The list of student
speakers shall be chronologically repeated as needed, in the same
order.  The district may repeat the selection process each semester
rather than once a year.
       The subject/topic of the student introductions must be
related to the purpose of the event and to the purpose of marking
the opening of the event, honoring the occasion, the participants,
and those in attendance, bringing the audience to order, and
focusing the audience on the purpose of the event.  Although the
subject/topic has been designated and a student must stay on the
subject/topic, and the student may not engage in obscene, vulgar,
offensively lewd, or indecent speech, the district shall treat
student expression of religious viewpoints, if any, in the same
manner as the district treats student expression of secular or
other viewpoints, without discrimination.
       For as long as there is a need to dispel confusion over the
non-sponsorship of the student's speech, at each event in which a
student will deliver an introduction, a disclaimer shall be stated
in either written or oral form, such as, "The student giving the
introduction for this event is a volunteering student selected on
neutral criteria to introduce the event.  The content of the
introduction is the private expression of the student and does not
reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of
the school district."
       Certain students who have attained special positions of honor
within the school have traditionally addressed school audiences
from time to time as a tangential component of their achieved
positions of honor, such as the captain(s) of various sports teams,
student council officers, class officers, homecoming kings and
queens, prom kings and queens, and the like.  Such students have
attained their positions based upon neutral criteria. Nothing in
this policy eliminates the continuation of the practice of having
such students, irrespective of grade level, address school
audiences in the normal course of their respective positions.  The
district shall treat such students' expressions of religious
viewpoints, if any, in the same manner as the district would treat
such students' expressions of secular or other viewpoints, without
discrimination.
             Student Speakers at Graduation Ceremonies:
       The district hereby creates a limited public forum consisting
of an opportunity for a student to speak to begin graduation
ceremonies and another student to speak to end graduation
ceremonies.  For each speaker, the district shall set a maximum time
limit reasonable and appropriate to the occasion.
       The forum shall be limited in the following manner:  (a) Only
students who are graduating who hold one of the following neutral
criteria positions of honor shall be eligible to use the limited
public forum:  student council officers, class officers of the
graduating class, and top three academically ranked graduates (or a
shorter or longer list of student leaders as the district may
designate).  Any student, however, who will otherwise have a
speaking role in the graduation ceremonies is ineligible to give
the opening and closing.  The names of the eligible volunteering
students will be randomly drawn.  The first name drawn will give the
opening, and the second name drawn will give the closing.
       The topic of the opening and closing must be related to the
purpose of the graduation ceremonies and to the purpose of marking
the opening and closing of the event, honoring the occasion, the
participants, and those in attendance, bringing the audience to
order, and focusing the audience on the purpose of the event.
       In addition to the students giving the opening and closing,
there are certain other students such as Valedictorians who have
attained special positions of honor based upon neutral criteria who
will have speaking roles at graduation ceremonies.  For each such
speaker, the district shall set a maximum time limit reasonable and
appropriate to the occasion and to the position held by the speaker.  
For this purpose, the district creates a limited public forum for
these students to deliver such addresses.  The subject/topic of the
addresses must be related to the purpose of the graduation
ceremonies, marking and honoring the occasion, honoring the
participants and those in attendance, and the student's perspective
on purpose, achievement, life, school, graduation, and looking
forward to the future.
       Although the subject/topic has been designated for each
student speaker and a student must stay on the subject/topic, and
the student may not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or
indecent speech, the district shall treat student expression of
religious viewpoints, if any, in the same manner as the district
treats student expression of secular or other viewpoints, without
discrimination.
       A written disclaimer shall be printed in the graduation
program that states, "The students who will be speaking at the
graduation ceremonies were selected based upon neutral criteria to
deliver messages of their own choice.  The content of each student
speaker's message is the private expression of the individual
student and does not reflect any position or expression of the
district, its board, administration, or employees, or necessarily
indicate the views of any other graduate.  The contents of these
messages were prepared by the student volunteers, and the district
refrained from any interaction with student speakers regarding the
student speakers' viewpoints on permissible subjects/topics."
       Religious Expression and Prayer in Class Assignments:
       Students may express their beliefs about religion in
homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from
discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions.  
Students shall neither be penalized nor rewarded on account of
religious content.  Such home and classroom work shall be judged by
ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against
other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school.  
Thus, if a teacher's assignment involves writing a poem, the work of
a student who submits a poem in the form of a prayer (for example, a
psalm) should be judged on the basis of academic standards (such as
literary quality) and neither penalized nor rewarded on account of
its religious content.
       Organized Prayer Groups and Activities:
       Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, "see
you at the pole" and other religious gatherings before, during, and
after school to the same extent that students are permitted to
organize other non-curricular student activities and groups. Such
groups must be given the same access to school facilities for
assembling as is given to other non-curricular groups, without
discrimination because of the religious content of their
expression.  Where student groups that meet for nonreligious
activities are permitted to advertise or announce their
meetings--for example, by advertising in a student newspaper,
putting up posters, making announcements on a student activities
bulletin board or public address system, or handing out
leaflets--school authorities may not discriminate against groups
who meet for prayer or other religious speech.  School authorities
may disclaim sponsorship of non-curricular groups and events,
provided they administer such disclaimers in a manner that neither
favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or other
religious speech.
       SECTION 2.  If any provision of this Act or its application
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of this Act, and to this
end the provisions of this Act are severable.
       SECTION 3.  Short title.  This Act may be cited as the
"Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act" or "Marian's Law."
       SECTION 4.  This Act applies beginning with the 2007-2008
school year.
       SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2007.