Court Upholds Texas Moment of Silence Law as Constitutional

A federal appeals court upheld on Monday a Texas law allowing students to observe a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling, rejecting a North Texas couple's claim that the moment of silence law, which took effect in 2003, was unconstitutional.

The panel ruled that the statute is "facially neutral between religious and non-religious activities that students can choose to engage in during the moment of silence."

After the ruling, David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case last year, stated, "A moment of silence is not a government endorsement of religion just because someone might use the time for prayer.

"No student is compelled to pray under the Texas law. The 5th Circuit was right to uphold the district court’s determination that the law is not an establishment of religion."


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