Proposed South Carolina Bill Would Allow Teachers to Participate in Student-Led Prayer

A proposed bill in South Carolina would allow teachers to participate in times of student-led prayer and to join in on any student-led religious clubs. H.B. 3345, sponsored by Reps. Bill Chumley, Mike Burns and Stephen Long, was filed in the state General Assembly on December 15. “[T]he South Carolina General Assembly finds that the concept of academic

freedom is derived from the guarantee of free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which also permits the free exercise of religious beliefs,” the bill’s introduction reads in part. It therefore allows for public school teachers to join in times of student prayer if desired, or also lead a prayer if requested by students. READ MORE