Texas Parents Sue Governor Rick Perry and School District Over Moment Of Silence in Public Schools
A 2003 Texas law gives students a moment of silence after they recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the pledge to the Texas flag each day at school.
David Wallace and Shannon Croft are the parents of three children, and the family lives in Carrolton, Texas. Their children attend Rosemeade Elementary School, and they do not agree with the moment of silence and interpret it to mean a moment of prayer.
The Crofts' complaints about religious themed words and images in public schools is nothing new. The couple has previously complained about Boy Scout rallies held during school and about their children coming home with fliers about Good News Bible Club meetings. They also objected to the song "Silent Night" and a Hanukkah song being sung or played at school holiday concerts and celebrations.
The couple is now suing Texas Governor Rick Perry and the school district over the state-mandated moment of silence each day in public schools. They argue that the moment of silence is unconstitutional and is thinly disguised state-sanctioned school prayer.
Krista Moody, a spokeswoman for Governor Perry, says that the governor supports allowing the students and faculty of public schools to take the moment to quietly reflect on whatever they choose. She said the beauty of the moment of silence law is that there are no guidelines and the children are allowed to do with the moment whatever they want.
The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, also being sued by the Crofts, says that the school district has followed the law to the letter and has treated everyone fairly and equally.
In a recent court hearing, Governor Perry was represented by Ted Cruz, solicitor general for Texas. Cruz said that the Crofts are arguing specifically that every statute in the country that mandates a moment of silence is illegal and unconstitutional. They further argue that if every moment of silence statute is not illegal, then definitely every statute that mentions the word pray is unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
Thirteen of the twenty five states that have a statute mandating a moment of silence in public schools specify that prayer is an option for the child.
In their arguments, the Crofts are citing a case from Alabama during the 1980s in which the moment of silence was struck down.
Cruz says that their argument is not valid because it's contrary to binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
According to Cruz, the law in Texas is almost identical to the moment of silence law in Virginia. In Virginia the moment of silence law was unanimously upheld in the federal Court of Appeals in 2001 and the Supreme Court declined to review the case. Cruz says that the enactment of the moment of silence law was an act by Texas lawmakers to protect the freedom of conscience of every child in the public school system.
The federal court has heard arguments in the case and a decision on the matter is expected in about a month.