If school officials have discretion which absences to excuse and which not(as it appears from the story that they do),then the federal free exercise clause would seem to require excusal absent compelling interest. Marc Stern
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Volokh, Eugene Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 12:20 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: FW: Student reprimanded for religious absences Any thoughts on this issue? The Indiana Free Exercise Clause has been interpreted to require strict scrutiny, City Chapel Evangelical Free Inc. v. City of South Bend, 744 N.E.2d 443 (Ind. 2001), though I know of no cases that have dealt with the government's role as K-12 educator. Eugene http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/11/21/news/lake_county/2e51b ae417129d4486256f52007f530f.txt The parent of a sixth-grade Lowell Middle School student says the Tri-Creek School Corp. has threatened to expel her child for religious beliefs. Ruth Scheidt said middle school officials forced her 12-year-old son to sign a letter last month stating he understood if he missed another day of school for any reason before the end of the semester in January, he could be expelled. The family had just returned from an out-of-state, eight-day religious observance called the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated by the United Church of God. . . . Under Indiana law there is no ruling as to whether children are to be excused for religious purposes, Neal said. The Indiana Department of Education holds firmly that it is not a reason to excuse students under Indiana law. . . . Students are allowed five days of excused absences per semester, Neal said. Excused absences include illness with a doctor's note, a death in the immediate family, quarantine or court appearance. "Occasionally there may be an emergency in a family," Neal said. "The principal may excuse a day to do that." After more than five absences, students must sign a letter acknowledging they understand they could be expelled. Some states provide a list of approved absences that are religious-based, but Indiana does not, Neal said. . . . _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
