1. Separation of Church and State

2. The Phrase • The phrase “Seperation of Church and State is never phrased in the Constitution. • It was originally written in a personal letter written my President Thomas Jefferson to a small Baptist church in 1802. • http://www.allabouthistory.org/favicon.ico

3. Equal Access Act • This document explains in great detail what is allowed and not allowed by students, faculty, and a community as a whole dealing with these issues. • Go to ED Equal Access Act

4. Cases McCollum v. Board of Education Dist. 71, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument • Case Basics Docket No.:  • 90 • Petitioner:  • McCollum • Respondent:  • Board of Education Dist. 71 • Decided By:  • Vinson Court (1946-1949) • Opinion:  • 333 U.S. 203 (1948) • Argued:  • Monday, December 8, 1947 • Decided:  • Monday, March 8, 1948 • Categories:  • federal courts, jurisdiction, freedom of religion, first amendment, establishment of religion, education •  Cite this page The Oyez Project, McCollum v. Board of Education Dist. 71 , 333 U.S. 203 (1948) available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1947/1947_90) • (last visited Thursday, October 29, 2009). • Facts of the Case:  • In 1940, members of the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and some Protestant faiths formed a voluntary association called the Champaign (Illinois) Council on Religious Education. Cooperating with the Champaign Board of Education, the Council offered voluntary classes in religious instruction to public school pupils. The courses were conducted in the regular classrooms of the school building. Students who did not attend the religious instruction were required to go to some other place in the building to pursue secular studies. • Question:  • Did the use of the public school system for religious classes violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause? • Conclusion:  • Yes. The Court held that the use of tax-supported property for religious instruction and the close cooperation between the school authorities and the religious council violated the Establishment clause. Because pupils were required to attend school and were released in part from this legal duty if they attended the religious classes, the Court found that the Champaign system was "beyond question a utilization of the tax-established and tax-supported public school system to aid religious groups and to spread the faith."

5. Most recent • School brass facing prison time for luncheon prayer - CNN.com • This article describes teacher in Florida who are facing prison time for saying a prayer to themselves before they ate their lunch. Provided by CNN.com

6. Sources School brass facing prison time for luncheon prayer - CNN.com McCollum v. Board of Education Dist. 71, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument ED Equal Access Act http://www.allabouthistory.org/favicon.ico Power Point (Microsoft) Clip Art