Dive Brief:

• A recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of a town council's pre-meeting prayer raises questions over whether or not a public school board can also pray before meetings.  
• The case in question dealt with town council meetings in Greece, NY, where prayers led by Christian clergymen preceded the public gatherings. The court ruled (5-4) in favor of the council's prayers, saying they did not violate the First Amendment since non-Christian attendees weren't forced to participate.  
• Legal experts are unsure how this case will affect school boards, which have many similarities to town councils.  

Dive Insight:

The separation of church and state comes up time and again in education. Though the Constitution indicates a delineation between the two, there are many areas where the nation has seemed more lax over the years. School voucher programs are another example of an area where separation is expected but does not always happen, as the publicly funded vouchers can often be used on religious schools.