Paul Finkelman
Susanna Peters wrote:
Not knowing the facts of the situation w/r to travel distance is also problematic. For example my community here in the UP of Michigan is 5 hours away from a coservative or Orthodox synagogue (which also happens to be in another state). To ask a family in such a situation to start observances say Sunday eve that may conclude at sunset Monday, then to drive back all day Wednesday just so they can go to school on Thursday and drive again back again all day Friday for evening services on that day (esp during certain times of year) seems a bit harsh not to say costly and expensive. Most families here could not and cannot afford to make such arrangements. My hope would be that the facts, e.g. where you live and how easily you can travel (e.g. car, bus, someone elses car etc) should make some difference. I guess the question is what the test would be to see if these incidents to the religous observances need to be accomodated. Should some people get more accomodation than others? How would the courts decide? Ideally the school should be flexible, but maybe they have some reason not to be?
If the school has a strict attendance policy and the student needs to take four days off for religious holiday (use my earlier example of the observant Jew and Passover) it might be constitutionally required that the studnet can get the fourdays off without penalty; but surely there is no requirement that the student also get off the four days in between those four days, plus a travel day. Indeed, even if the religious observance *required* that the observance take place in a particular place, and could not take place elsewhere, I don't see how there could ba constitutional requirement that the travel days or days in between obervance, be exempt from the attendance requirement. So, maybe you are right, that required or elective travel should not be exempt.
Steven Jamar wrote:
I am unaware that the United Church of God requires out-of-state attendance. Does that matter? Does it matter whether it is a requirement as opposed to an elective thing? It seems to me that the state has a compelling state interest in educating its citizens and that that is what we look at, not at some compelling interest to change the rules on attendance for an elective activity.
Steve
On Tuesday, November 23, 2004, at 02:19 PM, Mark Stern wrote:
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. . . .
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-- Paul Finkelman Chapman Distinguished Professor University of Tulsa College of Law 3120 East 4th Place Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-2499
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