Student religious liberties.

WORKING DRAFT
2014
STATE OF
WYOMING
14LSO-0002

HOUSE BILL

NO.
HB0077

Student religious liberties.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s)
Kroeker
, Baker, Hutchings, Jaggi, McKim, Miller, Reeder, Watt and Winters and Senator(s) Cooper and Nutting

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to education; providing for voluntary student expression of religious expression of religious viewpoints in public schools; specifying requirements for school districts; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.
W.S. 21
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4
‑
701 through 21
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4
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706 are created to read:

ARTICLE 7
WYOMING STUDENT RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES ACT OF 2014

21
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4
‑
701.

Wyoming Student Religious Liberties Act of 2014.

This
article shall be
cited as the "
Wyoming
Student Relig
ious Liberties Act of 2014."

21
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4
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702.

S
tudent
e
xpression.

(a
)

A public school district shall not discriminate against students or parents on the basis of

a religious viewpoint or religious expression.

(b)

A school district
shall treat a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject in the same manner the district treats a student's voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject and may not discriminate against the student based on a religious viewpoint expressed by the stud
ent on an otherwise permissible
subject.

21
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4
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703.

R
eligious expression in class assignments.

Students may express their beliefs abou
t religion in homework, artwork
and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Homework and classroom assignments
shall

be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school district. Students may not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work. If an assignment requires a student's viewpoint to be expressed in coursework, artwork or

other written or oral assignments, a public school shall not

penalize or reward a student on the basis of religious content or a religious viewpoint. In such an assignment, a student's academic work that expresses a religious viewpoint shall be evaluated based on ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance to the course curriculum or requirements of the coursework or assignment.

21
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4
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704.

Freedom to organize religious groups and activities.

(a)

Students in public schools may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious activities or expression. Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs or other religious gatherings before, during and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to

organize other noncurricular student activities and groups.

(b)

Religious groups
shall
be given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other noncurricular

groups without discrimination based on the religious content of the students' expression. If student groups that meet for nonreligious activities are permitted to advertise or announce meetings of the groups, the school district may not discriminate against groups that meet for prayer or other religious speech.

(c)

A school district may disclaim school sponsorship of noncurricular groups and events in a manner that neither favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or religious speech.

(d)

Students in public schools may wear clothing, accessories and jewelry that display religious messages or religious symbols in the same manner and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories and jewelry that display messages or symbols are permitted.

21
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4
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705.

Limited public forum; school district policy.

(a)

To ensure that the school district does not discriminate against a student's publicly stated voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, and to eliminate any actual or perceived affirmative school sponsorship or attribution to the district of a student's expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, a school district shall adopt a policy, which
shall
include

the establishment of a limited public forum for student speakers at all school events at which a student is to publicly speak.

(b)

The policy regarding the limited public forum
shall
require the school district to:

(i)

Provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate against a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject;

(ii)

Provide a method, based on neutral criteria, for the selection of student speakers at school events and graduation

ceremonies;

(iii)

Ensure that a student speaker does not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd or indecent speech;
and

(iv)

State, in writing, orally, or both, that the student's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position or expression of the district.

(c)

The school district disclaimer required by
paragraph

(b)(iv)
of this section
shall
be provided at all
school events and
graduation ceremonies. The school district
shall
continue to provide the disclaimer at any other event in which a student speaks publicly for as long as a need exists to dispel confusion over the district's nonsponsorship of the student's speech.

(d)

Student expression on an otherwise permissible subject
shall not
be excluded from the limited public forum because the subject is expressed from a religious viewpoint.

(e)

Not later than August 15, 2014, a
ll school districts shall adopt and implement a policy regarding a limited public forum and voluntary student expression of religious viewpoints.

21
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4
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706.

Construction.

(a)

This act shall not be construed to authorize the state or any of
its political subdivisions
to
:

(i)

Require any person to participate in prayer or in
any other religious activity; or

(ii)

Violate the constitutional rights of any person.

(
b
)

This act shall not be construed to limit the authority of any public school to:

(i)

Maintain order and discipline on the campus of the public school in a conten
t and viewpoint neutral manner;

(ii)

Protect the safety of students, employees and
visitors of the public school; or

(iii)

Adopt and enforce policies and procedures regarding student speech at school provided that the policies and procedures do not violate the rights of students as guaranteed by the United States and
Wyoming
constitutions and laws.

Section 2.
This act
applies beginning with the 2014-2015
school year.

Section 3.
This act
is effective July 1, 2014
.

(END)

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HB0077