First Amendment Balance

     "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
     So reads the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Fewer than 50 words and yet so much ink has been spilled and so many battles fought in courts about their interpretation. This is the key legal foundation for understanding a proper "separation of church and state." (Incidentally, this amendment was interpreted only with regard to the federal government, but in 1925 the Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment applied the 1st Amendment to state and local governments as well.) There is very little in the way of legislation that governs the nature of relationships between religious groups and governmental groups (like school districts). Therefore, much of what has been established as  law has come from a number of court cases relating to the 1st Amendment.
     There are several key parts to the Amendment that the courts seek to balance. First, the government cannot create a state church ("no establishment of religion"). Generally, this means that a governmental unit cannot do anything to favor a particular religion or religious viewpoint. It cannot, for example, require people to pray or to attend a religious gathering. A second key point in this Amendment is that private citizens have the right to the "free exercise" of their religion and the right to "freedom of speech." As well, we have the right "peaceably to assemble." These are a lot of rights! When it comes to holding a religious activity inside of a school, the government (school) cannot endorse the activity or require anyone to attend. However, it must remain religiously neutral allowing private citizens the free exercise of their religion. If the building is open for other types of groups to peaceably assemble, then it must be available to Christian groups on the same terms. As well, when a school creates a space for outside groups to use its facilities, it has created a "limited public forum." The forum may be limited in terms of the scope of what may take place there, but it may not be limited with regard to a particular viewpoint because viewpoints are protected by our right to free speech.
     So, the bottom line is that a school may block all groups from using their space, and this would include religious groups because they are a subset of "all." However, if the school allows other outside groups to use its facilities then it must allow all groups equal access on the same terms without regard to whether the group espouses a religious or non-religious viewpoint. For example, if the school allows a Boy Scout group to use their facilities right after school at no charge, then it ought to allow a church to conduct a Crossroads Kids Club program right after school at no charge as well. The reason is that by allowing the Scouts to meet, the school has created a limited public forum. The forum at that point includes a non-profit organization sponsoring a character-formation club. A church is also a non-profit organization, and a Crossroads Kids Club program is also a character formation club albeit from a Christian viewpoint. The one thing the school may not constitutionally do is argue that because the organization is a church or because the activities have religious content, they cannot take place in a school. The Supreme Court ruled definitively on this in the case of Good News v. Milford in 2001. The religious viewpoint is a non-issue because the government cannot be anti-religion. It must be neutral.
     This is a complex topic, and I am by no means a constitutional scholar nor an attorney. I have developed a working knowledge of these principles over many years of working in and with schools. If you have specific legal questions, please consult your own attorney. Nonetheless I hope this post gives you some basic understanding of what is possible in schools and the legal basis for it.