Legal Brief #3
Santa Fe I.S.D. v. Doe (2000)
Plaintiff v. Defendant
Case No. 530 U.S. 290
Parties: (Plaintiffs)
Jane Baldwin Doe
Defendant
Santa Fe Independent School District
Statement of Issues: According to the ruling, students were required to vote on whether
prayers would be said before football games, and to select a student to deliver the prayers before
the games.
Arguments of the Plaintiffs: This school board policy violates the Establishment Clause
due to the word "invocation" and Santa Fe High's long-standing tradition of Christian pregame
prayers. It is clear from the school board's two-part election procedure that those who hold
different religious beliefs will be forced into conformity (primarily Baptists). However, since it is
limited to the school's pre-ceremony, over the stadium's public address system, in front of a
school-sponsored audience, the school is neither neutral nor uninvolved in the prayer.” All
members of the school's football team, including the band and cheerleaders, are required to
attend football games. It is possible for them to be harassed by other students if they choose not
to participate in the student-led prayer before the game. Santa Fe High School's school board
policy is a ruse designed to preserve a long-standing tradition of Christian prayer.
Arguments of the Defense: First Amendment rights protect students from school board
policy that requires them to deliver a pre-game "invocation and/or message." According to
school board policy, no religion is promoted. Students' "invocation and/or message" could be a
prayer, or it could be a non-religious statement that conforms to school board policy. In addition
to promoting student free speech and sportsmanship, the school board's policy has non-religious
purposes as well. Students deliver "invocation and/or message" at sport events outside of school
hours in front of students and adults who are attending voluntarily.
Holding of the Court: Students' right to lead and initiate prayer at football games was
found to violate the Establishment Clause. On appeal, the court found that a district policy
implied both a perceived and an actual endorsement of prayer at important school events.
Rationale: Student body representative led prayer before football games was in violation
of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Public schools are now limited in their ability to
endorse religious messages at school ceremonies as a result of the Court's ruling.
