LC 1.18 Students Have Rights Too Act.

[lfromnj]

SECTION I: NAME
1. This act shall be called the Students Have Rights Too Act.

SECTION II: STUDENT RIGHTS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
1. Public school districts shall not discriminate against students or parents on the basis of their religious viewpoints or expressions of religion.
2. Students may wear clothing, accessories and jewelry that display religious messages or symbols in the same manner and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories and jewelry that display messages or symbols are permitted.
3. Students may express their beliefs about their religion in their class assignments, discussions, and artwork free of discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such work must be evaluated by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance. If assignments or artwork containing religious viewpoints are shown or made available to parents, the community, or the general public, it must be accompanied with a disclaimer that the viewpoints expressed are those of the student and are not endorsed by the school district.
4. Students in public schools may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in secular student-led activities or expression. Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, “see you at the pole” gatherings, or other religious gatherings before, during, and after school to the same extent that students may organize or participate in other extracurricular gatherings and groups. Religious groups must be granted the same access to school facilities as other student extracurricular groups.
5. Student-led religious groups or organizations may invite outside guests, such as clergy, religious leaders or parents, to speak, teach, or lead prayers at group meetings. Invited guests must be approved by school administration, pass a school district-approved background check, and not teach or endorse any viewpoints that are contrary to the law or school district curriculum. Guests may not be paid or materially reimbursed in any way by the school district, parent association, or student association.
6. Students who speak in public forums such as assemblies, morning announcements, graduation ceremonies, and sporting events shall be free to express their religious viewpoints to the extent that secular viewpoints would be permitted. Students who speak in such forums shall be selected based on neutral criteria. School districts and individual schools are free to establish time limits and other restrictions that do not infringe student expression. School administrators must provide disclaimers that student viewpoints are those of the student and are not endorsed by the school district through all relevant channels, including but not limited to oral announcement and written disclaimers in in the event program.
7. This act is not intended to, nor shall it be construed to, authorize this region or any of its political or administrative subdivisions to:
a. Require any person to participate in prayer or other religious activities.
b. Violate the constitutional rights of any person.
8. Upon reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, any educational personnel may request consent to search any student's belongings and/or property. The student that would be searched may, if they see fit, refuse consent to any such search. Such a refusal is not to be construed as insubordination. The taking of any disciplinary action by any educational official, as a response to refusal of consent to a request to search, is hereby prohibited. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the right of an educational official to acquire a warrant for any search, to search when a warrant is possessed, or to search when a warrant is not required. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting "probable cause" based searches. Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving students property rights in an assigned locker, desk, or workspace.
9. Section IV of the Lincoln Gun Control Act mandating school employees search every item that enters a school before it enters a school is hereby repealed.
10. No student shall be required to obtain permission to possess lotion or sunscreen while at school.
11. No public school district may prohibit students from carrying bags or purses that are not transparent.
12. Any public school system may allow students in the same administrative district who are enrolled in a lawful home school program to participate in extracurricular activities conducted by the public school system, provided the home school students are subject to the same waiver of liability applicable to public school students.

SECTION III: STUDENT RIGHTS IN PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
1. Every public College and University in Lincoln has an obligation to protect peaceful expressive activities by enrolled students. Any enrolled student who: physically obstructs another enrolled student or their guest from engaging in protected expressive activities or who causes a disruption for the purpose of preventing another enrolled student or their guest from engaging in protected expressive activities, shall be sanctioned by the College. Any student sanctioned under this subsection on 3 separate occasions, shall be suspended from the College for 1 year following a hearing. Any enrolled student who causes a disruption for the purpose of preventing another enrolled student or their guest from engaging in protected expressive activities by falsely pulling a fire alarm, threatening violence, or committing actual violence, shall be suspended from the college for 1 year, following a hearing.
2. Any outdoors public space on a public College, other than roadways, is a public forum. No public College may maintain a speech code prohibiting expressive activities in a public forum, other than enforcing reasonable noise limits between the hours of 11 P.M. and 7 A.M.
3. No public College shall consider the race or religion of any student when determining dormitory assignments.
4. Any student enrolled in a public College in Lincoln who has been accused of a crime, shall be entitled to due process prior to being suspended from the college. This shall include adequate notice of the time of, place of, and accusations being presented during a fair and impartial hearing, the right to attend the hearing with legal counsel, the right to offer evidence to challenge the accusations, the right to make a record or transcript of the hearing, and the right to address the hearing prior to a final decision.
5. No person enrolled in a public College or University who may lawfully own a weapon or firearm shall be prevented from storing their weapon or firearm inside a locked vehicle which is lawfully parked upon the boundaries of a public College.
6. The failure by any public College in Lincoln to abide by these requirements, shall result in a 25% reduction of funding.
7. The following information shall not be subject to Lincoln FOIA laws:
a.) The name, address, any identifying information, and any contact information of any student in a public school or public college in Lincoln.

SECTION IV: ENACTMENT
1. This act shall take effect forty-five (45) days after passage.

[/quote]

sponsor Thr33

[lfromnj]

I support the university part but don't fully support the school part.

[lfromnj]

II.5. Student-led religious groups or organizations may invite outside guests, such as clergy, religious leaders or parents, to speak, teach, or lead prayers at group meetings. Invited guests must be approved by school administration, pass a school district-approved background check, and not teach or endorse any viewpoints that are contrary to the law or school district curriculum. Guests may not be paid or materially reimbursed in any way by the school district, parent association, or student association.

II.6. Students who speak in public forums such as assemblies, morning announcements, graduation ceremonies, and sporting events shall be free to express their religious viewpoints to the extent that secular viewpoints would be permitted. Students who speak in such forums shall be selected based on neutral criteria. School districts and individual schools are free to establish time limits and other restrictions that do not infringe student expression. School administrators must provide disclaimers that student viewpoints are those of the student and are not endorsed by the school district through all relevant channels, including but not limited to oral announcement and written disclaimers in in the event program.

III.2. Any outdoors public space on a public College, other than roadways, is a public forum. No public College may maintain a speech code prohibiting expressive activities in a public forum, other than enforcing reasonable noise limits between the hours of 11 P.M. and 7 A.M.

While it may be surprising and/or contradictory, I could in theory stomach most of this and understand its value. However, II.6 is a bridge too far; it's one thing to allow student-led organizations based around a religion to have speakers representing that religion, but letting students preach to the masses at events where attendance is mandatory I believe crosses a line.

Depends. I support ninjas amendments to morning announcements as those generally should be following a strict non secular guideline anyway but during a graduation ceremony can the valedictorian not thank anyone they wish or bring up most appropriate topics?

[lfromnj]

I'm honestly ok with most of the provisions, it doesn't create a theocracy, it just allows religion in personal/group contexts. The reason why I oppose allowing it in morning announcements is because they are a thing that everyone hears every day, and unlike things such as graduation it isn't personal.

Yeah I agree with that line of thinking. I belive thr can agree with that or will come to a compromise regarding announcements.

[lfromnj]

Nay

[lfromnj]

Btw your amendment's language isn't gender neutral.

Also what would be the punishment for colleges that refuse to enforce the law as given here?

[lfromnj]

Private prayer in schools should absolutely be allowed. Atlasian/American secularity is not and should not be laïcité.

Usually it's liberals who support secularism, while conservatives tend to be more supportive of religious mentions. This is certainly a surprising view.

Secularism, in our cultural context, does NOT mean the same thing as French-style laïcité, which is what you seem to be advocating here.

I am not a Christian so, I feel that with any religious mention, me and other non-Christians will be persecuted and/or ostracized

But think about this from the other perspective for a second.

Let's take Muslim students for example. Islam mandates prayer five times a day, and at least one of those times is (I believe) almost certain to have its range mostly or entirely in school hours on any given day. Are you proposing that Muslim students should have to leave the campus daily to pray and then return to campus?

That sounds a lot more like actual persecution than some Christian students mentioning their faith in a non-school-promoted setting does.

I'm not a Muslim either, and while I have sympathy for these Christians and Muslims, them praying may make students of other religions, such as Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, feel ostracized. Why do you want to take us back to the era of school prayer. I am part of their other religions, I am very skeptical of bringing religion into schools. The SC already outlawed school prayer, this bill literally allows school prayer

Engel V Vitale specifically outlawed mandatory school prayer with official school backing. These would be more unofficial clubs.

[lfromnj]

Then they should go outside of the school, onto the playground or something, and pray during their lunch period, but only if no one can see them and if they do it in complete and utter silence

Damn. I understand you aren't Christian and probably don't realize you are being offensive, but my lord is this an offensive point of view ... that the mere fact that a person is religious is so repugnant to you that they must hide and stay silent lest they merely be perceived, as though perceiving someone worshiping different than them is an attack. If you saw me praying before a meal in a restaurant would you similarly feel disgusted and demand the owner kick me out?

And again, as I have pointed out multiple times as have others, the Supreme Court REQUIRES protections that you want to eliminate. You cannot ignore the Supreme Court just because you have no empathy for the religious. Several binding Supreme Court cases I have linked to require policies in this bill you want to vote down. You cant just vote away a Supreme Court interpretation of the Constitution. Public schools are not allowed to single out religious speech for adverse treatment in public and semi public forums. So again, if I can talk about Avengers: Endgame or robots or being gay at the lunch table then I can also pray, and the idea that I shouldnt be able to is evil.

Now that should be a crime.

[lfromnj]

I would vote Aye on this but I don't want to be on atlas next week. Can someone who would vote no abstain to pair with me for abstention?(I would vote aye as long as thr says the full bill is friendly)

[lfromnj]

I would vote Aye on this but I don't want to be on atlas next week. Can someone who would vote no abstain to pair with me for abstention?(I would vote aye as long as thr says the full bill is friendly)

Is this on the final vote or the vote to override a filibuster

This is on both votes I guess.

[lfromnj]

Aye