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Over the course of the 2018-2019 school year the membership and officers of the Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists and Humanists (MOVAH) have participated in a respectful dialogue with Superintendent Hosaflook and the Wood County Board of Education (WCBOE) concerning the grossly unconstitutional, unprofessional, and harmful actions of a vocal and determined minority of Wood County Public Schools employees to use public schools as a platform for their religious activities during school hours and at school sponsored events. Specifically, by establishing religious clubs led by members of the administration or faculty, meeting during the school day on school property in partnership with a large, local, and aggressive church.
Beginning this past December WCBOE worked with MOVAH and other concerned citizens to pass a revised policy for student clubs and organizations which addresses many of these concerns in a constitutional and legally sound manner (policy 5147 -- Guidelines for Non-Curricular Student Clubs and Organizations). The superintendent and Board should be thanked for doing so.
However, this policy is incomplete. It does not fully address the inappropriate presence of religious worship and ceremony in school functions, it does not address the use of religiously motivated "guest speakers" during instructional time, and it has no "teeth" and thus no consequence for violating it. We can assure you that it is being violated regularly. Members of our organization report that their constitutional rights are being violated and that employees of Wood County Public Schools are actively promoting preference for the Christian religion on the public's time. Specifically:
* Parkersburg High School Big Red Band Annual Awards Banquet began with an explicitly Christian prayer, and a thanks to the "preacher" for doing so for the last three years.
* The Gideons organization handed out Bibles at Jackson and Hamilton Middle Schools.
* Edison Middle School year end awards began with an explicitly Christian prayer.
* Representatives of the Women's Care Center, which is NOT a medical organization, but an anti-choice organization which is documented as giving out unscientific, religiously motivated untrue reproductive health information, addressed Health classes at Parkersburg High School.
These are inappropriate, oppressive, and illegal and must stop.
How to stop them? The policy must be expanded to include these concerns and there must be a process of in-service professional development on the new policy, the legal consequences of ignoring said policy, the legal rights of non-religious and minority-religion students, and the policy must be enforced through legal and professional consequences, like any other policy. Further, when an academic class such as Health wants an outside lecturer it should be required to use the best available fact-based source, in this case the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department would be a best choice to talk about reproductive health in a public school classroom.
What is the alternative? If Wood County Public Schools refuses to operate within the bounds of best practices and settled case law by having no religious ceremonies during public school events, (a moment of silence would be best if anything is needed), then it must include ALL organizations in these public displays of religious, ideological, and philosophical preference. Not just Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists and Humanists, but members of the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Wiccan, Mormon, Satanic Temple and Unitarian Universalists communities must be allowed to participate as well.
Wouldn't it be better just to have our public schools be a neutral, supportive and positive place for all citizens?
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Anthony M. Underwood, President Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists and Humanists