Building rentals are managed through the county not the school and come at a fee. |
The school is part of the county government. And what does the fee have to do with anything? |
I agree with you. I was just explaining my understanding of the policy. |
This is an interesting legal question. There was. Case in 2016 when two college students sued the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire ove something similar. The school denied their submitted 30 community service hours which were based on instructing Sunday School at a local Catholic Church. The case was settled out of court, resulting in the university removing the language that restricted this type of religious service and accepted the students’ hours. The case is Liebl v. Schmidt. No formal ruling was ever issued about the actual constitutional question, but it tracks very closely to what the OP was asking.
Here’s the settlement agreement: https://adflegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Liebl-v-Schmidt-2017-05-21-Settlement-Agreement.pdf |
Sorry for the typos. Typing on the IPad is not for me, apparently. |
Thank you! I bet the current DOE would view the policy as illegal, as would the current Supreme Court, possibly by more than 6-3. |
Please unenroll your spawn from mcps. We don’t want bigots near our kids. You are disgusting that you would even THINK to threaten based on what’s going on in the political climate. You are such a spoiled brat that you are using religion as a shield against your bias. Religion has no place in public education. Take it up with the state bigot. |
LOL. That is NOT the same thing at all. I'm not religious, but it's ridiculous that students can't count volunteering at Sunday School towards SSL hours. That should DEFINITELY be allowed. |
Not the OP, but thanks for posting this. I hope someone pursues this (won't be me because we don't belong to a church lol). There is a ridiculous, unfair double standard in MCPS regarding this issue. |
That is unacceptable. My DD has gone back to her elementary school and helped the teachers out with various tasks. She has also volunteered in the Media Center, etc. What is the difference? Helping out an MCPS teacher or helping out a Sunday School teacher. Both should be allowed. Or neither should be allowed. If anything, the Sunday School teacher is likely an unpaid volunteer, whereas the MCPS teacher is a paid individual. |
As a member of a minority religion, I absolutely agree religion has no place in public education. I also think kids should be able to get SSL hours for volunteering at a religious school ON THEIR OWN TIME AND OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL if they so choose. SSL hours are designed to require kids to volunteer and give back to their community. A kid who volunteers to tutor at a religious school is doing this just as much as a kid who volunteers to tutor at a non-religious program. While I won’t stoop to your level, it’s quite ironic you call me a bigot. Ignoring that you know nothing about my beliefs (religious or political), your post shows such a visceral hatred for any sort of religion that I would hardly call you open minding and accepting. |
I think the policy is unquestionably discriminatory and unlawful. There are a number of pro bono outfits that take these specific types of cases, and if you’re interested it won’t take long to identify candidates online. |
Agree with this. Either get rid of all SSL requirements, or allow kids to 'give back to the community' in the way they and their families see fit in order to fulfill these SSL requirements. FWIW, I'm agnostic but this current policy is hypocritical, discriminatory and ridiculous. |
This is also my understanding. They can't get SSLs for practicing or teaching their religion. But they can do good works under the umbrella of a religious organization. |
Seems to me it should be fine (and I'm guessing would be approved by the SSL office) if a kid does math tutoring for kids at a religious school. They just can't teach bible study, right? For any organization to give SSL hours they have to go through a process of getting approved by MCSP. Has any religious school tried to get approved for this kind of thing? I'm guessing it would be approved but is an administrative struggle to explain/justify and get through the process and isn't something that is frequently needed. |