(20 U.S.C. 4071-74)
Denial of Equal Access Prohibited
Sec. 4071.
(a.) It shall be deemed unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings.
(b.) A public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more non-curriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during non-instructional time.
(c.) Schools shall be deemed to offer a fair opportunity to students who wish to conduct a meeting within its limited open forum if such school uniformly provides that —
- the meeting is voluntary and student initiated;
- there is no sponsorship of the meeting by the school, government, or its agents or employees;
- employees of the school or government are present at the meetings only in non-participatory capacity;
- the meeting does not materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school; and
- non-school persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend activities of student groups.
(d.) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to authorize the United States or any State or political sub-division thereof —
- to influence the form or content of any prayer or other religious activity;
- to require any person to participate in prayer or other religious activity;
- to expend public funds beyond the incidental cost of providing space for student-initiated meetings;
- to compel any school agent or employee to attend a school meeting if the content of the speech at the meeting is contrary to the beliefs of the agent or employee;
- to sanction meetings that are otherwise unlawful;
- to limit the rights of groups which are not of a specified numerical size; or
- to abridge the constitutional rights of any person.
(e.) Notwithstanding the availability of any remedy under the Constitution or the laws of the United States, nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to authorize the United States to deny or withhold Federal financial assistance to any school.
(f.) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to limit the authority of the school, its agents or employees, to maintain order and discipline on school premises, to protect the well-being of students and faculty, and to assure that attendance of students at meetings is voluntary.
Severability
Sec. 4073. If any provision of this subchapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is judicially determined to be invalid, the provisions of the remainder of the subchapter and the application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Construction
Sec. 4074. The provisions of this subchapter shall supersede all other provisions of Federal law that are inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter.
Here it is in simpler language:
The Equal Access Act
The Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. § 4071, is designed to ensure that student religious activities are accorded the same access to Federally funded public secondary school facilities as are student secular activities. Based on decisions of the Federal courts, as well as its interpretations of the Act, the Department of Justice has developed the following guidance for interpreting the Act’s requirements:
General Provisions: Student religious groups at Federally funded public secondary schools have the same right of access to school facilities as is enjoyed by other comparable student groups. Under the Equal Access Act, a public secondary school receiving Federal funds that creates a “limited open forum” may not refuse student religious groups access to that forum. A “limited open forum” exists “whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time.” 20 U.S.C. § 4071(b).
Prayer Services and Worship Exercises: A meeting, as defined and protected by the Equal Access Act, may include a prayer service, Bible reading, or other worship exercise.
Means of Publicizing Meetings: A public secondary school receiving Federal funds must allow student groups meeting under the Act to use the school media—including the public address system, the school newspaper, and the school bulletin board—to announce their meetings on the same terms as other noncurriculum-related student groups are allowed to use the school media. Any policy concerning the use of school media must be applied to all noncurriculum-related student groups in a nondiscriminatory matter. Schools, however, may inform students that certain groups are not school-sponsored.
Lunch-time and Recess: The Equal Access Act prohibits a Federally funded public secondary school from denying a religious student group equal access to a limited open forum. A “limited open forum” exists “whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time.” Id. Accordingly, a Federally funded secondary school triggers equal access rights for religious groups when it allows students to meet during their lunch periods or other non-instructional time during the school day, as well as when it allows students to meet before and after the school day.
Leadership of Religious Student Groups: Similar to other student groups such as political student groups, the Equal Access Act permits religious student groups to allow only members of their religion to serve in leadership positions if these leadership positions are positions that affect the religious content of the speech at the group’s meetings. For example, a religious student group may require leaders such as the group’s president, vice-president, and music coordinator to be a dedicated member of a particular religion if the leaders’ duties consist of leading prayers, devotions, and safeguarding the spiritual content of the meetings.
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