Arguing the Founders "understood that no right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous, and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions," President Trump announced new protections Thursday for prayer and religious expression in public schools.
The White House said the plan is to "help safeguard students' rights by giving education providers and students the most current information concerning prayer in public schools."
While there will be no change to existing law or regulations, the Department of Education will send a letter to education secretaries and officials in all 50 states to remind them that students and teachers are protected by First Amendment religious rights.
The Education Department also will update 2003 guidance regarding prayer in public schools and streamline a federal complaint process for students alleging discrimination by authorities.
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Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for First Liberty, was at the White House for the announcement along with clients Hannah Allen and former football coach Joe Kennedy.
"We commend President Trump for his strong efforts to protect America's first freedom – religious freedom," he said. "These revisions to the Guidelines on Prayer and Religious Expression ensure that the religious liberty of students in public schools is protected."
Shackelford said the religious freedom of America's public school students and teachers "does not stop at the schoolhouse gate.
"Today's guidelines affirm that promise," he said.
"We are also grateful to the president for his actions today protecting the rights of Americans by ending religious discrimination by state and federal agencies. Religious Americans should be treated equally when they seek to partner with federal or state governments to provide services to vulnerable communities," said Shackelford.
First Liberty defended Allen's right to pray with friends during the lunch hour at school after officials ordered her to stop. Kennedy was fired for praying silently after a high school football game in Bremerton, Washington. His case has returned to federal court.
The White House announcement noted the president also is working on related rules and regulations for various agencies.
"The administration is issuing nine proposed rules to protect religious organizations from unfair and unequal treatment by the federal government," the White House said. "The proposed rules would eliminate burdensome Obama-era requirements that unfairly imposed unique regulatory burdens only on religious organizations."
The White House said the Office of Management and Budget is also releasing a memo requiring federal agencies to ensure that the grant-making practices of state recipients of federal funding comply with the First Amendment.
Already, the president:
- Signed an executive order upholding religious liberty and the right to engage in religious speech.
- Signed an order recognizing the essential contributions of faith-based organizations and establishing the Faith and Opportunity Initiative.
- Has fought in courts for religious liberty.
- Reversed the Obama-era policy that prevented the government from providing disaster relief to religious organizations.
- Has called on the international community and business leaders to work to protect religious freedom around the world.
Liberty Counsel noted the efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services to implement rules upholding the president's previous order to clear away regulations for religious organizations.
"This rule protects HHS-supported religious social service providers from discrimination in federal regulations and it guides all federal administrative agencies and executive departments in compliance with federal law," Liberty Counsel said.
"HHS's proposed rule would eliminate current discriminatory regulations, enacted by former President Obama, that require only religious providers of social services to make referrals under certain circumstances to alternative service providers and post notices regarding this referral procedure. However, as HHS's proposed rule observes, these burdens were not required by any applicable law, and because they were imposed only on religious social service providers, they are in opposition with recent Supreme Court precedent regarding nondiscrimination against religious organizations. The proposed rule also will foreclose other unequal treatment of religious organizations by ensuring that they are not required to provide assurances or notices that are not required of secular organizations," the organization said.
Alliance Defending Freedom President Michael Farris said: "Religious freedom is the headwaters of all freedoms, and we're grateful that President Trump and his administration have taken numerous opportunities to acknowledge and protect it for all people and organizations of faith. Unfortunately, some states and local government officials continue to treat religious organizations as second class citizens, and discriminate against them in government programs. Likewise, students across our country still find their First Amendment freedoms under attack the moment they set foot on their public school campus."
He added: "We affirm the administration's proposed rules designed to ensure that the government doesn't treat religious individuals and organizations as second-class to secular institutions, including new rules that direct federal agencies to act consistently with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in ADF's Trinity Lutheran case. The president's directive requiring all public schools to respect their students’ religious liberty, is also a welcome step to remedy these attacks on people of faith. ADF has and will continue to advocate for every student and every American’s freedom to exercise his or her constitutional freedoms without fear of censorship or discrimination."
Trump noted religious freedom is "a driving force behind some of the earliest defining moments of our American identity."
"The desire for religious freedom impelled the Pilgrims to leave their homes in Europe and journey to a distant land, and it is the reason so many others seeking to live out their faith or change their faith have made America their home," he said.
Trump said protecting religious minorities is a core pillar of his foreign policy, and he had called on the United Nations to "take concrete steps to prevent state and non state actors from attacking citizens for their beliefs and to help ensure the sanctity and safety of places of worship."