Common Ground

Several deep fissures scar the American political landscape - issues so divisive that trying to span them is hopeless.

One of them has been the way religion is treated in public schools.

The crevice that separates those who believe in an impermeable wall between church and state from those who rue the day God was “kicked out of the public schools,” has not been filled in, but it has been narrowed.

A deliberate, patient process has identified important areas of common ground. National organizations as diverse as People for the American Way and the Christian Coalition have found a set of principles on which they agree.

Those principles are reprinted on this page, along with a brief explanation of the process, written for The Spokesman-Review by Charles C. Haynes, Ph.D., scholar in residence at The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

Haynes, who was in Spokane earlier this year to address the Washington State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, is a leading authority on religious liberty issues in public education.

Readers are invited to submit their thoughts about the principles and the process to Doug Floyd, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99223.Or, send e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com.

PRINCIPLES OF COMPROMISE

I. Religious liberty for all

Religious liberty is an inalienable right of every person.

As Americans, we all share the responsibility to guard that right for every citizen. The Constitution of the United States with its Bill of Rights provides a civic framework of rights and responsibilities that enables Americans to work together for the common good in public education.

II. The meaning of citizenship

Citizenship in a diverse society means living with our deepest differences and committing ourselves to work for public policies that are in the best interest of all individuals, families, communities and our nation.

The framers of our Constitution referred to this concept of moral responsibility as civic virtue.

III. Public schools belong to all citizens

Public schools must model the democratic process and constitutional principles in the development of policies and curricula.

Policy decisions by officials or governing bodies should be made only after appropriate involvement of those affected by the decision and with due consideration for the rights of those holding dissenting views.

IV. Religious liberty and public schools

Public schools may not inculcate nor inhibit religion. They must be places where religion and religious conviction are treated with fairness and respect.

Public schools uphold the First Amendment when they protect the religious liberty rights of students of all faiths or none. Schools demonstrate fairness when they ensure that the curriculum includes study about religion, where appropriate, as an important part of a complete education.

V. The relationship between parents and schools

Parents are recognized as having the primary responsibility for the upbringing of their children, including education.

Parents who send their children to public schools delegate to public school educators some of the responsibility for their children’s education. In so doing, parents acknowledge the crucial role of educators without abdicating their parental duty. Parents may also choose not to send their children to public schools and have their children educated at home or in private schools.

However, private citizens, including business leaders and others, also have the right to expect public education to give students tools for living in a productive democratic society. All citizens must have a shared commitment to offer students the best possible education.

Parents have a special responsibility to participate in the activity of their children’s schools. Children and schools benefit greatly when parents and educators work closely together to shape school policies and practices and to ensure that public education supports the societal values of their community without undermining family values and convictions.

VI. Conduct of public disputes

Civil debate, the cornerstone of a true democracy, is vital to the success of any effort to improve and reform America’s public schools.

Personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule and similar tactics destroy the fabric of our society and undermine the educational mission of our schools. Even when our differences are deep, all parties engaged in public disputes should treat one another with civility and respect, and should strive to be accurate and fair. Through constructive dialogue we have much to learn from one another.

PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS ESTABLISH WORKABLE DIALOGUE

By Charles Haynes

Three years ago, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of Evangelicals and the First Amendment Center decided the time had come for a new dialogue between public school educators and some of their severest critics, especially among conservative Christians.

Much was at stake on all sides. Everyone at the table was painfully aware that culture-war battles in public schools tear apart the fabric of our society and greatly threaten efforts to reform schools.

The first meeting, in April 1994, opened with a list of disputes ranging from religious holidays and prayer to school reform and sex education. Hearing the litany of conflicts, one participant remarked that if we don’t find ways to address our differences concerning religion and values in schools, then public education doesn’t have much of a future.

Ernest Boyer, representing the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, suddenly hit the table.

“I wouldn’t put it that way,” he said.

The group looked surprised, well aware of Boyer’s strong advocacy of public education.

“No,” he said emphatically, “if we don’t do better in addressing these conflicts, it’s not just public schools, but our nation that doesn’t have much of a future.”

We kept Dr. Boyer’s warning before us as we struggled to craft an agreement that would help local schools and communities move from battleground to common ground. One year later, in the spring of 1995, 21 educational and religious groups issued “Religious Liberty, Public Education and the Future of American Democracy: A Statement of Principles.” For the first time in American history, organizations representing a broad spectrum of religious and political views from left to right articulated a shared vision of religious liberty in the public schools.

This articulation of First Amendment principles is as remarkable for who says it as for what it says. The statement signals that across our religious and political differences, there is now a great deal of consensus regarding the relationship of religion to government and to public schools under the First Amendment. Our hope is that we can begin to live up to this agreement, and to encourage local communities to build their own bridges using the Statement of Principles as a model for finding common ground.

JOINING FORCES The following national organizations are sponsors of “Religious Liberty, Public Education and the Future of American Democracy: A Statement of Principles”: American Association of School Administrators American Center for Law and Justice American Federation of Teachers Anti-Defamation League Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Central Conference of American Rabbis Christian Coalition Christian Educators Association International Christian Legal Society Citizens for Excellence in Education Council on Islamic Education The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University National Association of Elementary School Principals National Association of Evangelicals National Association of Secondary School Principals National Congress of Parents and Teachers National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. National Education Association National School Boards Association People for the American Way Phi Delta Kappa Union of American Hebrew Congregations