ACLU Nebraska had complaints from all across the state for several years about guest speakers invited into public schools for a chance to deliver religious messages to a captive audience of children. “With each of these complaints, we’d be hearing about the problem after the fact,” explained ACLU Nebraska Legal Director Amy Miller. “So we were reacting after the damage had been done, which was frustrating for parents who were afraid to speak out and risk alienation in their communities.”
That’s when the ACLU decided to try a more novel approach: we wrote a letter to every single Superintendent in Nebraska, warning them that guest speakers are obliged to obey the First Amendment. “We’ve asked school administrators to do homework before putting someone in front of the students,” said Miller. “The clear and stated mission of some of these entities is to convert children to Christianity. If a school knows that, then the school is participating in illegal endorsement of one religious viewpoint.”
The ACLU letters singled out two particular home grown proselytizing speakers: Ron Brown and Keith Becker. Brown, a Husker coach, has long been speaking in public schools, and the ACLU has had complaints about his misconduct for over a decade. “Reports indicate his presentations rail against homosexuality, urge children to pray and read the Bible, and explicitly exhort belief in his personal version of Christianity.” Becker is a newer speaker on the school scene who uses Biblical verses and imagery to encourage children to “take the narrow path.” Becker’s religious-laden presentations all conclude with an “altar call,” where he invites the students to come down to him on the stage if they agree to live by his precepts. “This leaves dissenting students alone on the bleachers with a spotlight on them,” pointed out Miller. “That sort of peer pressure is the exact reason the US Supreme Court has forbidden religious exercises in the school.”
This proactive approach had two purposes: first, to alert unwary administrators to the true goal of these presenters and second, to put all administrators on notice about their obligation to do some research before giving an outside speaker access to the students. “We continue to stand available for any parent who wants to complain to us,” said Miller, “but since we fear it may be too unpopular for a family to come forward, we wanted to try to stop this problem without needing a lawsuit.”
We put the final touch on our effort to educate the educators by presenting a live seminar with questions and answers at the Nebraska Council of School Administrators in November. Here’s hoping this is one lesson that’s been fully learned.
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