The school system representatives maintain that the federal Equal Access Law legitimizes the performance of a religious rite on public school property by a non-chap[lain "youth pastor."
They are wrong.
The Equal Access Law, in pertinent part, reads thusly:
(c) Fair opportunity criteria
Schools shall be deemed to offer a fair opportunity to students who wish to conduct a meeting within its limited open forum if such school uniformly provides that—
(1) the meeting is voluntary and student-initiated;
(2) there is no sponsorship of the meeting by the school, the government, or its agents or employees;
(3) employees or agents of the school or government are present at religious meetings only in a nonparticipatory capacity;
(4) the meeting does not materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school; and
(5) nonschool persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend activities of student groups.>>>>
Russellville school authorities have publicly stated that the "youth pastor" who presided at these baptisms is NOT a team "chaplain". He is not employed in any official capacity by the school system. He is thus, without question, a "nonschool person." This "youth pastor" volunteers in various non-religious ways to assist the football team. Among other things, he and some other "pastors" paint lines on the football field before games. That in no way alters his status as a "nonschool person." It is indisputable that he, as a "youth pastor" presided over the conduct of a religious rite on a public school property in the company of students of that school (a "student group", assuming that the hastily organized ad hoc baptismal assemblage meets the Act's definition of "student group,"which is questionable). Irrespective of whether persons assembled constituted a "student group," his action violates the prohibition of (c)(5), above. The school is thus deficient in that it has NOT "uniformly provid[ed] that nonschool persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend activities of student groups.>>>>
That the "non-chaplain "youth pastor" is a "private citizen" is not relevant to this case. The criterion of (c)(5) applies irrespective of his status as a "private citizen."
