Texas Governor Signs Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed into law House Bill 3678, the Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act, which creates a model policy for schools on dealing with student religious expression. The new law, which goes into effect September 1, 2007, clarifies federal religious and free speech laws for schools. Specifically, it protects students from being punished because they simply expressed a religious viewpoint verbally or in a class assignment. The new law also creates guidelines for student speakers at graduation ceremonies, football games and other school-wide events, and it allows students to organize religious groups and activities. CWA Policy Analyst Martha Kleder spoke with Marian Ward, who was the high school student who prayed at a Texas high school football game, triggering one of several lawsuits at the time that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Listen | Download

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