Current through the 2024 Fourth Special Session
Section 53G-10-202 - Maintaining constitutional freedom in the public schools(1) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-206, any instructional activity, performance, or display which includes examination of or presentations about religion, political or religious thought or expression, or the influence thereof on music, art, literature, law, politics, history, or any other element of the curriculum, including the comparative study of religions, which is designed to achieve academic educational objectives included within the context of a course or activity and conducted in accordance with applicable rules or policies of the state and LEA governing boards, may be undertaken in the public schools.(2) No aspect of cultural heritage, political theory, moral theory, or societal value shall be included within or excluded from public school curricula for the primary reason that it affirms, ignores, or denies religious belief, religious doctrine, a religious sect, or the existence of a spiritual realm or supreme being.(3) Public schools may not sponsor or deny the practice of prayer or religious devotionals.(4) School officials and employees may not use their positions to endorse, promote, or disparage a particular religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic, or atheistic belief or viewpoint.Amended by Chapter 294, 2023 General Session ,§ 1, eff. 7/31/2023.Amended by Chapter 293, 2019 General Session ,§ 194, eff. 5/14/2019.Renumbered from § 53A-13-101.1 by Chapter 3, 2018 General Session ,§ 341, eff. 1/24/2018.Enacted by Chapter 95, 1993 General Session