Question

Seniors at a public high school can pay for a block on a wall to paint as they please to leave their mark. Some students choose to include Bible verses on their blocks. A group of parents lodge a complaint with the school board, saying that their children have to walk by the wall and should not have religious speech forced on them. The parents say that since it is a public school, the practice violates the establishment clause. The school board orders the existing verses to be painted over and bans the use of religious speech on the blocks. A group of students challenge the ban, claiming that it violates their right to free expression and free exercise of religion. Prepare an essay in the form of an argument on whether or not the local school board has violated the students' rights under the Constitution. In your essay, you must: Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning Support your claim or thesis with at least TWO pieces of accurate and relevant information: At least ONE piece of evidence must be from the U.S. Constitution (including amendments) At least ONE piece of evidence must be from Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) or Engel v. Vitale (1962) Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim/thesis Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal

Answer 1

The school board as a government body cannot abridge or restrict the students' exercise of religion. You could argue that the other students walking past the wall are free t disregard the quotes on the wall. Or that if quotes from other sources such as atheists or other religions or philosophies are allowed, the quotes from the Bible should be treated as any other quotes from published literature.

Explanation: I hope this is a start for you. You will have to develop the essay and find support from the sources suggested. I am not an attorney, and have no insights into the cases mentioned.