ipl-logo

Santa Fe High School Case Summary

599 Words3 Pages

Case Citation: Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
Parties: Santa Fe Independent School District/ Petitioner Jane Doe/ Respondent
Facts: Prior to 1995, Santa Fe High School established a policy which allows their student council chaplain to deliver a Christian prayer through the school’s public address system before home football games of the school’s team. The practice was repeated before every football game. The mothers of one Mormon and one Catholic student filed a suit, claiming that the prayer policy violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Santa Fe High School changed the policy by establishing elections of spokesperson and voting whether the prayers should be delivered. A majority of the students voted for continuation of prayers and elected a student to deliver them. The District Court upheld the policy but permitted only nonsectarian, no proselytizing prayers. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the previous and current versions of the school’s prayer policy were invalid. Santa Fe Independent School District petitioned for a writ of certiorari arguing that the new policy did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. …show more content…

Holding: Yes. In a 6-3 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court held that the Santa Fe Independent School District's policy allowing the representative of the student community to deliver overtly Christian prayer before home football games violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Reasoning: In its reasoning the Court considered Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 ruling, which decided that prayers during public high school events violate the Establishment

Show More
Related

  • Safford Unified School Dist Case Brief

    497 Words  | 2 Pages

    Case Name, Citation, Year Safford Unified School Dist. #1 v. Redding 557 U.S. 364 (2009) Facts of the Case Redding was an eighth grade student, who was suspected of having over the counter drugs on school grounds. Over the counter drugs on school grounds is a violation of school policy.

    Read More

  • Case Study: San Antonio Independent School District Vs. Rodriguez

    427 Words  | 2 Pages

    The San Antonio Independent School District acting on behalf of students whose families reside in poor districts, challenged the funding by arguing that underprivileged students schools lacked the property tax base that other districts

    Read More

  • Oakbend Senior High School Case Summary

    1468 Words  | 6 Pages

    Athletic Director Bob Marcus has quite the challenge in allocating the athletic department funds appropriately throughout all the programs within Oakbend Senior High School. After critically analyzing the case study it was quite clear some sports such as football and girls basketball received much more funding compared to other sports such as cross country and track and field. Throughout this case brief an effective solution that is both fair and in line with the districts mission will be expanded on to assist Bob Marcus is making the necessary budget cuts to provide a successful athletic program in the future. Marcus needs to cut about $80,000 from the previous budget plan to accommodate the funding cuts made by the school.

    Read More

  • Oklahoma City Schools Case Summary

    576 Words  | 3 Pages

    a. What happened? Sarah Adams-Cornell and Jacqueline Holder, Chair Person of Parental Invovolment of Oklahoma City Schools, addressed McLoud to change their mascot name due to the negative effect it might have on their Native American Students. Mcloud acknowledged the issue and after seeing support from the local community and a local native american tribe, it was decided that would keep the name the Redskins. b. What was the ruling/decesion?

    Read More

  • Engel V Vitale Summary

    145 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Supreme Court case of Engel v. Vitale’s decision was based on the establishment clause. The case of Engel v. Vitale struck down state organized prayer in school. The prayer had government endorsement and was thus considered unconstitutional. The Supreme Court case of Oregon v. Smith used the free exercise clause the basis of their decision.

    Read More

  • Engel V. Vitale: Prayer In The Public School

    859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Engel v. Vitale: Prayer in the Public Schools is a book written by Julia C. Loren. Loren’s main purpose for writing this book is to inform us about the history of the Engel v. Vitale trial, an important trial which determined that prayer was not acceptable in the public schools quote as the book says the “In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down one of its most controversial decisions of the twentieth century.” In this book, Loren was not bias towards either Engel’s or Vitale’s side of the case as she did not appear to be very fond of one particular side and gave information regarding both sides of the case. With that being said, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history or even the Engel v. Vitale case itself because the author was very straightforward in telling about both sides of the case without leaving anything out. Engel v. Vitale:

    Read More

  • Abington SD Vs. Schempp Case Study

    578 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abington SD vs. Schempp This case concerns Bible reading in the public schools of Pennsylvania. When the students who attended arrived for school, they were required to read at least ten verses from the Bible. After that, they were required to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The only way to avoid these activities was written note from the parents. The United States Supreme Court favored Schempp and declared this Bible reading to be unconstitutional.

    Read More

  • Engel Vs Vitale Summary

    1682 Words  | 7 Pages

    an you imagine yourself having to start your daily school routine with a prayer? This became a serious question to be taken up by the Supreme Court of the US, in November of 1951. Following an increase in in juvenile crime (many believe caused by the Korean War). The New York Board of Regents adopted a prayer to be recited in NY public schools (Dierenfield 67). The prayer was established because “...the regents believed that such a program would ensure that school children would acquire ‘respect for lawful authority and obedience to law’ ”

    Read More

  • Engel V. Vitale Summary

    426 Words  | 2 Pages

    The issue in this case was whether school-sponsored nondenominational prayer in public schools violates the Establishment clause of the first amendment (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This case dealt with a New York state law that had required public schools to open each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon God (Facts and Case Summary - Engel v. Vitale, n.d.). This law had also allowed students to absent themselves from this activity if they found that it was objectionable. There was a parent that sued the school on behalf of their child. Their argument was that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as made applicable

    Read More

  • Westside Community Schools Case Study

    660 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The students alleged that Westside 's refusal violated the Equal Access Act, which requires that schools in receipt of federal funds provide "equal access" to student groups seeking to express "religious, political, philosophical, or other content" messages” (Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens by and Through Mergens). Many still argue today that Westside 's prohibition against the Christian club, consistent with the Establishment Clause, makes the Equal Access Act unconstitutional.

    Read More

  • Essay On Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute For Religious Freedom

    527 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oaks in his talk “Religion in Public Life” goes over his experience’s. He tells how he worked in the government and how he says firsthand the public officials go over the First Amendment and how they deciphered the meaning and interpreted it. He explains how he saw the rulings about prayers in school unfold he believed it to be on the right track. He then goes on to explain how that one small thing bloomed into a bigger problem. That as those against religion pushed and pushed to get it “away” from them, to separate government and religion farther to the point the they were not just separated but they became against one another.

    Read More

  • Establishment Clause Of The First Amendment

    440 Words  | 2 Pages

    - [ ] Chapter 2 of the education consolidation improvement act of 1981 does not violate Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Chapter 2 of the education consolidation improvement act of 1981, says that all primary and secondary schools should be funded. Some of the private schools are religious so this includes all public, private, and religious schools. -[] Chapter 2 of the education consolidation improvement act of 1981 does not violate Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because of neutral law. Neutral law means that you have an impartial unbiased system of law.

    Read More

  • Engel V Vitale

    650 Words  | 3 Pages

    On June 25, 1962, a Supreme Court case, Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, was decided. The lawsuit was brought to the United States Supreme Court by parents (of students who attended schools in the Herricks School District) who complained that a nondenominational prayer instituted by the New York Board of Regents in their district was unconstitutional. The parents argued that the prayer, although optional, violated their First Amendment Rights. When the 6-1 (two justices did not vote) decision was made, it was ruled that voluntary prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. One concurring opinion was given, and the single judge that did not vote the same as the rest provided

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: The First Amendment In Public Schools

    547 Words  | 3 Pages

    The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. What the First Amendment allows American citizens is the freedom to practice their religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the freedom of the right to petition. America does not have a state-wide, announced religion but the early colonists were mainly protestant, therefore, Christianity continued through each generation until now. Christian practices are accepted as the norm in the United States whether

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Pledge Of Allegiance

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    Starting in kindergarten, we have allocated thirty seconds of every morning to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember hearing the announcement to do the Pledge, and sighing because I had to stand and perform this seemingly pointless task. As a little kid, I didn’t know what the Pledge of Allegiance really meant or why we had to do it. All I knew is that we would be performing the monotonous, fancy sounding, thirty-one worded stanza daily. While it was against the law for teachers to force us to say the Pledge, it was expected.

    Read More

More about Santa Fe High School Case Summary

Open Document