E. (§9.7) Distribution or Use of Religious Materials
Analysis in this area of the law requires a thorough understanding of the concept of “forum” analysis. When schools have a closed forum, such as many elementary schools, the school may prohibit the distribution of religious materials if the school can articulate a reasonable basis for that decision. If the school constitutes a limited open forum, the school may place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on the method of distribution.
Courts have addressed the distribution of Bibles and other religious literature in several cases. In Tudor v. Board of Education of Borough of Rutherford, 100 A.2d 857, 868 (N.J. 1953), cert. denied, 348 U.S. 816 (1954), the distribution of free Gideon Bibles was held unconstitutional because the effect of the distribution was to officially sanction one religious belief over another. See also Schanou v. Lancaster County Sch. Dist. No. 160, 62 F.3d 1040 (8th Cir. 1995) (addressed issues relating to distribution of Gideon Bibles, but court ultimately dismissed the case as moot); Berger v. Rensselaer Cent. Sch. Corp., 982 F.2d 1160 (7th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 911 (1993), rev’g 766 F. Supp. 696 (N.D. Ind. 1991) (Christian groups did not have First Amendment right to distribute Bibles to students).
The constitutionality of student distribution of religious materials varies depending on:
the nature of the school forum;
the age of the students;
the nature of the materials; and
the nature of the school district’s time, place, and manner restrictions.
See:
Rivera v. E. Otero Sch. Dist. R-1, 721 F. Supp. 1189 (D. Colo...
