Equal Access

Congress and student piety

The bill would unleash "forces likely to inflict critical damage on public education," maintained Democratic Representative Don Edwards of California. Fellow Democrat Bob Edgar of Pennsylvania, a United Methodist minister, urged that religious education be kept out of schools. Overriding such objections, the House last week passed, 337 to 77, a measure guaranteeing students the right to organize voluntary religious gatherings in public high schools, outside class hours, on the same basis as nonreligious groups.

The so-called equal-access measure, already passed by the Senate, goes to President Reagan, who is expected to sign it even though he considers the $1 billion grant for math and science training to which it is attached to be too costly. Some observers think the legislation may foster a proliferation of offbeat religious and political meetings on school premises. The bill was drafted in response to federal district court rulings forbidding all student religious gatherings, in cases involving schools in Lubbock, Texas, and Guilderland, N.Y. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review those decisions.

Legislators hoped the equal-access vote would end the politicking over school prayer. But the next day, House Democrats had to rally to defeat a surprise Republican amendment to cut off federal funds to schools that bar spoken prayer "by individuals on a voluntary basis." The House then overwhelmingly approved another amendment stating that students should not be denied "the opportunity to participate in moments of silent prayer."

Next term the Supreme Court will review an Alabama law allowing moments of silence in public schools.