[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

The 2nd Circuit Court ruling that overturned the lower court, to ban Churches from holding Worship Services in public schools Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York (June 2011):(Link)

Unless SCOTUS accepts review of this case at it's Nov 22 Conference, tens of Churches (60 in NYC alone), that hold services at public schools in NY, VT and CT must vacate before the end of 2011 and precedent is set for other liberal and moderate states to follow.

[combat_boots]

I was lost one Sunday, going to get some yard signs for a political issue. I drove by a public school that had a lot of cars in the parking lot and thought they might know what was what, so I stopped the car and walked up to the buillding. The door was locked, but there were people inside, so I knocked. I saw shoes on the floor, and, then, saris. Turns out it was a Hindu service going on. Some guy came to the door, cracked it, and told me so.

This was at a public school.

[narses]

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[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

The Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York

Pending petition
SCOTUS Conference 11/22/2011
Docket No. 11-386

Issue: (1) Whether the government engages in viewpoint discrimination when it excludes expression that is in all other respects permitted in the forum because it is labeled a “religious worship service”;

(2) whether the government creates a designated public forum by opening its facilities broadly to any expression “pertaining to the welfare of the community,” so that it must justify the content-based exclusion of religious expression by a compelling state interest;

(3) whether government concern about violating the Establishment Clause, and not an actual violation of that Clause, justifies the exclusion of private religious expression from a generally open forum;

and
(4) whether the government policy expressly excluding “religious worship services” from this forum violates the Free Exercise Clause.

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents:

Opinion below (2d Cir.)
Petition for Certiorari

[353FMG]

It is questionable if God is coming back to public school but what is not indisputable is that allah has been playing a more noticeable role.

[xzins]

Since the church participants are also participants in building the school buildings through their taxes, then the school have, in my mind, 2 choices: (1) close the school equally to all taxpayers for all activities that are not part of the curriculum or official extra-curriculum of the school, or (2) open the school equally to use by any taxpayer for any non-illegal, non-destructive activity.

This equality of opportunity would need to be renewed on some kind of regular basis so that the opportunity to use the facility would be most broadly offered. Some kind of lottery system for applicants would be fair.

Therfore, any group using the school buildings one year would not necessarily be able to obtain a time slot (or a desired time slot) in the ensuing year.

As for minimal payment, since taxpayers do fund the building already, I would be satisfied with charging only additional costs that any meeting would require (janitors to clean up, increased utilities for raised off-hour heating or cooling, etc.)