President Donald Trump on Monday said that the Department of Education would soon be instituting new guidelines on the right to prayer in public schools.
Speaking from an event at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, Trump said there are “grave threats to religious liberty in American schools.”
“For most of our country’s history, the Bible was found in every classroom in the nation, yet in many schools today students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda and some are punished for their religious beliefs. Very, very strongly punished,” Trump said. “It is ridiculous.”
Trump did not detail what the new guidance will include, but during the 2024 campaign he promised to “bring back prayer” to public schools.
In a statement to POLITICO, Savannah Newhouse, press secretary for the Education Department said, “The Department of Education looks forward to supporting President Trump’s vision to promote religious liberty in our schools across the country.”
While religion is not banned in public schools, the Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that state-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the First Amendment.
During his first term, Trump required local educational agencies to confirm that their policies did not prevent students from expressing their religious beliefs in order to receive federal funding.
He had also issued new guidance clarifying that students are allowed to organize prayer groups, express their religious beliefs in their assignments and can read religious texts or pray during non-instructional periods. The guidance was similar to that of 2003 guidance instituted under former President George W. Bush.
On Monday, Trump vowed to protect Judeo-Christian principles.
“We have to bring back religion in America, bring it back stronger than ever before as our country grows stronger and stronger,” Trump said. “To have a great nation, you have to have religion.”
