Arkansas Students Are Protected Against Compelled Pronoun Use by Good State Laws

Religious Freedom, , ,

A student in northwest Arkansas recently faced pressure at school to use “they/them” pronouns for classmates who claimed not to be male or female. When she declined, she was pressured to do so by other students.  She was concerned that the school administration might punish her for refusing to comply.  

Stephanie Nichols, director of our Arkansas Justice Institute, was able to help. Stephanie explained that three laws safeguard the student’s right to stand firm in her faith and refuse to use pronouns that recognize any gender that is different from the person’s sex at birth.  These laws are:  

  • The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 
  • The Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act 
  • The Arkansas Given Name Act (Act 542 of 2023)

The Given Name Act, sponsored by Rep. Wayne Long and Sen. Mark Johnson, directly addresses this issue. It states: “A student shall not be subject to any disciplinary action for declining to address a person using a name other than the name listed on the person’s birth certificate; or pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the person’s biological sex.”

Thanks to these laws, this student was on solid legal ground. This case is a clear example of why the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Arkansas Given Name Act—laws that Family Council worked hard to pass—are producing such good results today. And now, through the Arkansas Justice Institute, our attorney Stephanie Nichols is able to show families exactly how to use these protections to defend their rights and freedoms. 

Thankfully, through the good work of the Arkansas legislature and the generous gifts of our supporters, students in Arkansas are on solid footing with regard to their free speech rights and freedom of religion rights in our public schools.

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School Will Let Arkansas Student Share His Faith Following Calls from Gov. Sanders, Religious Freedom Advocates

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An Arkansas student who was muted and removed from a public school Zoom call while sharing his faith has been invited back to school.

Zion Ramos is a junior at Arkansas Connections Academy, an online public school. On September 23, Zion wanted to spend two minutes discussing his faith during a school “social time,” which is a daily period set aside for students to talk on Zoom about any topic they choose.

Zion chose to talk about his Christian faith. But while Zion was speaking, a public school teacher reportedly muted him without warning or explanation and removed him from the Zoom call.

After the incident, our friends at First Liberty sent a letter to school officials in Arkansas explaining that the school had violated Zion’s freedoms of speech and free exercise of religion, and Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders instructed the state Department of Education to open an investigation into the situation.

On Thursday, First Liberty announced that Arkansas Connections Academy has invited Zion back and guaranteed he will have three minutes to share his faith with classmates.

This is great news. Federal courts have ruled time and again that public school students and teachers do not lose their First Amendment freedoms at the schoolhouse doors.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision went so far as to say “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like” in public school.

Other court cases have affirmed that as long as students do not disrupt the learning environment, they are free to pray, discuss religion, share their faith, and engage in other forms of constitutionally-protected speech at school. That means students are free to talk about their faith at school the same way they may talk about other topics. That’s also part of the reason why groups and activities like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, See You At The Pole, and Bring Your Bible to School Day are constitutionally protected at school.

Arkansas has passed some of the best laws in the country affirming students’ religious liberties at school.

State law lets students enroll in elective courses to study the Bible academically at school.

This year lawmakers passed Act 400 by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) — a good law that affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

Act 400 identifies and upholds religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the right to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school — and it helps make sure that religious expression is treated equally to other types of speech at school.

We appreciate Arkansas’ lawmakers taking steps to protect religious liberty at school, and we want to thank Governor Sanders for taking Zion’s situation so seriously. We also appreciate Arkansas Connections Academy’s decision to do the right thing and invite Zion back to share his faith.

When it comes to religious liberty, public schools have been a battleground for more than 60 years. The free exercise of religion is a fundamental right. It’s important that we continue to stand up for it at school.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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How Can a Public School Start Offering Elective Courses on the Bible?

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We have written recently about how Arkansas law lets public schools offer elective courses on the Bible — and these courses have grown this year.

The Arkansas Department of Education has published standards that spell out what high schoolers can learn from these elective, one-semester courses.

These courses have been available since 2013, when Arkansas passed Act 1440 letting public schools offer elective, academic courses that study “the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, culture, and politics.”

The law says the course must be objective and nonsectarian, and it must meet the same academic standards as other elective courses in public schools. Anyone wishing to teach the course must be licensed to teach in the State of Arkansas.

In 2019, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1016 making technical clarifications to Act 1440 of 2013, and this year lawmakers passed Act 400, the Religious Rights at Public School Act by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirming public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties — including the freedom schools have to offer academic courses on the Bible under state law.

So how can a public school offer an elective course on the Bible? Here are a few points to consider:

  • It’s up to the local school board. Local districts decide whether to offer the course and choose the curriculum. School boards may vote to offer the course and find a licensed teacher qualified to teach it.
  • Courses must be nonsectarian. They must be taught objectively. They cannot include “sectarian interpretations of the Bible,” and they cannot “disparage or encourage a commitment to a set of religious beliefs.”
  • The Arkansas Department of Education offers an academic framework schools can use for establishing Bible courses. The State of Arkansas does not have an approved curriculum for the academic study of the Bible, but the Department of Education has produced official standards that spell out what these courses should cover. School districts are free to offer courses and use curricula that meet this framework. School districts do not have to get their curriculum approved by the department before offering the course.

This year, 18 school districts in Arkansas offered academic courses on the Bible. Courts have said the U.S. Constitution does not prevent public school students from being taught about the Bible and its significance throughout human history, provided that the instruction is neutral and educational. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision went so far as to say, “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.”

Family Council fully supports public school districts that offer academic courses on the Bible to students across the state. After all, no single book has been more influential over our civilization than the Bible.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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