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So what will this ruling mean? In Santa Fe, Bradley says that her son's graduation invitations did not mention the baccalaureate because the district feared legal problems. Days after its Santa Fe ruling, the Supreme Court advised the Alabama federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling allowing students to pray openly at public high school commencement services.Justice Stevens writes that the Santa Fe ruling does not ban all religious activity in schools: "Nothing in the Constitution as interpreted by this Court prohibits any public school student from voluntarily praying at any time before, during, or after the school day." Sekulow says that while students may pray when they wish, "They just won't have the microphone to do it." But "See You at the Pole," Bible-club meetings, and equal access to schools by church groups—those, he says, are protected: "The Supreme Court made specific mention of that."Couch fears the ruling undermines First Amendment rights. Rulings in the 1990s assured religious groups the same access as other groups to public school facilities. "My question is, why don't they have access to the P.A. system?" he asks. "It's legalized censorship." He says the ACLU plans to get a court injunction to scrutinize Santa Fe's actions at football games this fall to assure the district obeys the court ruling.Couch says that the district's legal fight was worth it. "This is not about winning or losing. It's about doing the right thing," he says, adding that thousands of citizens across the country and many judges support the district's case.

Our editorial on the controversy (written before the Supreme Court decision), titled " Let's Pray, Then Play ," appeared on ChristianityToday.com June 6. The text of the Supreme Court's decision is available in regular HTML at Findlaw or as a PDF document at the court's official site .News articles about the decision from other media include:School eliminates prayer policy —The Associated Press (July 7, 2000) Court Again Limits Prayer in Schools —The Associated Press (June 26, 2000) Ruling challenges relationship between U.S. sports, religion | Rituals to continue despite prayer ruling—The Dallas Morning News (June 25, 2000) Supreme Court prayer ruling hailed; others doubt impact | Students don't see anything wrong with team prayer, silence—The Detroit News (June 20, 2000) Prayer Continuing, Despite Order —The Associated Press (June 20, 2000) Game prayer backers decry loss of tradition —The Cincinnati Post (June 20, 2000) Ruling hardly ends debate on school prayer | Decision focused on football games, not other student efforts, many say—The Dallas Morning News (June 20, 2000) High court rejects pre-game prayer | 6-3 vote strikes down Texas district's policy—The Dallas Morning News (June 20, 2000) Student Prayers Must Be Private, Court Reaffirms —The New York Times (June 20, 2000) School Prayer Is Dealt a Blow —The Washington Post (June 20, 2000) Court bars student-led prayer at games —USA Today (June 20, 2000) Supreme Court bans student-led prayer at football games —The Freedom Forum (June 19, 2000Editorials and opinion pieces from other media include:God, Coins and Classrooms —Chicago Tribune (July 15, 2000) Someone save this court —George Will (June 26, 2000) Heaven help those who enjoy a hot dog or two —Tamara McNutt Bundy (June 26, 2000) How They Prayed in Texas —Colbert I. King (June 24, 2000) Right choice by Supreme Court on prayer —Derrick Z. Jackson (June 21, 2000) The Supreme Court v. America: A Lesson in Judicial Overreach —Charles Colson (June 21, 2000) Keeping Prayer Safe From Football —Clarence Page (June 21, 2000) Washington Watch: School Prayer —Janet Parshall, Family Research Council (June 21, 2000) School Kids Haven't Got a Prayer According to Supreme Court's Sante Fe Decision, FRC Says —Family Research Council (June 19, 2000)

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August 7 2000, Vol. 44, No. 9