The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has upheld a school district's ban on Christmas carols such as "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" – and approved "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."
UPDATE 10/4/10: Supreme Court allows ban to stand, favoring a secular "inclusive environment" to celebrate Christmas
-- From "Appeals Court: School district can ban Christmas carols" by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff 11/25/09
"Certainly, those of us who were educated in the public schools remember holiday celebrations replete with Christmas carols, and possibly even Hanukkah songs, to which no objection had been raised," the court said in its ruling.
"Since then, the governing principles have been examined and defined with more particularity. Many decisions about how to best create an inclusive environment in public schools, such as those at issue here, are left to the sound discretion of the school authorities."
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From "Out with Jesus, in with 'Frosty the Snowman'" by Chelsea Schilling © 2009 WorldNetDaily 11/29/09
In the Nov. 24 ruling the Third Circuit approved the school policy banning all religious Christmas music, including instrumentals, that had been part of the South Orange–Maplewood School District's Christmas program for years – until one parent complained.
Attorneys with the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich., argued to reverse a lower-court ruling affirming the policy. The firm argued the district's ban on religious music conveys a government-sponsored message of disapproval and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Michael Stratechuk and his children in the district. The ban deprived the Stratechuk children the right to receive information and ideas, the suit asserts, an inherent corollary of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise indicated the case is not over. Muise said he will ask the Third Circuit to rehear it on both substantive and procedural errors. If denied, the Law Center indicated it will most likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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