Understanding the Separation of Church and State

To work with public schools, churches must understand the federal laws regarding separation of church and state and be willing to partner with schools to support the schools’ agenda, priorities, and goals, not pre-conceived notions of how to help.

At the U.S. federal level, there are centers for neighborhood and faith- based partnerships (www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ofbnp/offices/federal), including one at the Department of Education (www.ed.gov/edpartners).

Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education*

1. Make sure that all programs and activities have a secular purpose.
2. Select student participants without regard to religious affiliation.
3. Allow students the free expression of their religion, provided the speech takes place within the reasonable limits of orderliness.
4. Refrain from participating in student-led religious activities while operating in your capacity in the educational activity.
5. Encourage civic values and positive character development without preaching directly about your faith.

For faith-based volunteers, be mindful of the First Amendment rights of students and families. On one hand, do not preach about your faith, pray or conduct religious activities during your volunteer session with them. On the other hand, do not discourage or infringe on the rights of the students and families to speak about their religion, to say a prayer or read Scripture, provided that this is done within the reasonable limits of rules for orderliness, talking, and congregating that are set for other speech and activities.

* Adapted from Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, “How Faith Communities Support Children’s Learning in Public Schools,” U.S. Department of Education, Washington DC, 1999