萝莉网

President's Corner

Throughout my career, I鈥檝e watched public education walk the fine line between supporting students鈥� and staff鈥檚 rights to religious freedom and ensuring we are not creating a state-sponsored religion or favoring one religion over another.

A quick search using artificial intelligence on separation of church and state yielded the following: 鈥淲hile the core principle remains, the exact application of the separation of church and state is often debated and interpreted differently in various legal cases and contexts.鈥�

In brief, it鈥檚 a little muddy, and it likely depends on your community.

I feel fortunate to be fairly grounded in my own faith. I am a Christian and was raised to celebrate being humble, compassionate and forgiving. Through the years, I鈥檝e learned that people of a similar faith can have a very different understanding of those words.

In the late 2010s, one of our school district鈥檚 high schools stepped into a firestorm. A beloved choir teacher provided an opportunity for her students that she intended to be inclusive, but the result was not well received by some in our community 鈥� and news about it reached across the country.

Traditionally, multiple choirs performed during the high school鈥檚 winter concert. The choir teacher permitted students to select the songs they would sing during the transition between choirs. The choirs included students of all backgrounds, and students sometimes chose songs that aligned with their backgrounds. Many songs were traditional winter holiday songs, such as Christmas songs, with some lyrics religious in nature. Some years, students selected Jewish songs. This particular year, students selected a Jewish song and a Muslim song.

When some parents learned that a Muslim song was part of the program, they turned to social media to share their displeasure, swiftly creating a backlash locally and nationally from those who felt the song should not be allowed. The district responded that the song was student-selected and optional.

Public schools are allowed, of course, to teach about religion and use religious materials for educational purposes, but not to recruit followers to a specific religion. Courts have ruled that traditional religious songs are permissible when presented within an academic context and not used to further or promote a particular religion.

Based on that guidance, the high school鈥檚 inclusion of the Muslim song in the choral program was legal. It was also inclusive and a reflection of the students鈥� interests. Our school board stood with the teacher鈥檚 decision, acknowledging the student-selected song reflected the students鈥� personal beliefs and life experiences.

However, the district鈥檚 position did not align with what some people within and outside the community believed was appropriate. While many community members were comfortable with the inclusion of Christian songs, some struggled with any other religion being reflected in the program.

In the end, the concert was presented without incident, and as with most firestorms stirred up by social media, this issue eventually waned.

I think of this experience when the topic of 鈥渞eligion in the classroom鈥� comes up. What I remember most is that we leaned into our district values of student-centered inclusion, compassion and belonging to work through the matter.

While laws are constantly evolving, and checking with your district鈥檚 legal team for guidance on this topic is important, it鈥檚 equally critical to know your community when managing a controversial topic, regardless of the case law. Remaining grounded in 鈥� and trusting in 鈥� our districts鈥� beliefs and values, as well as our own, will only help us to lead well during difficult times.

I know we are all navigating challenging and churning waters. Stay true to your course. You鈥檝e got this.

David Law is 萝莉网president for 2025-26.