Moment of silence gets another look
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois legislators may revisit a much-debated law requiring a moment of silence in public schools, either by eliminating the requirement or by changing the law's name to remove any reference to prayer.
A House committee deadlocked Thursday over changing the name of the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, which has triggered a federal lawsuit. Sponsors of the law say the moment of silence is about a brief period of quiet -- not necessarily prayer.
"Many have argued that it is an entry for prayer into schools," said Rep. Will Davis, a Chicago Democrat, who wants the name changed. "My intent is to give students the opportunity to do what they choose. … Some students may actually choose to pray, and that's their choice."
Other legislators want the law changed more dramatically, so schools could choose whether to observe a moment of silence. That was the status until last year, when legislators made it mandatory.
The mandate takes up valuable classroom time and puts educators on a seesaw choosing between ignoring the law or following it and risking a lawsuit, said Rep. Roger Eddy, a Republican from downstate Hutsonville.
"What this is really about is removing schools from the terrible spot we put them in," said Eddy, a sponsor of legislation to end the moment-of-silence requirement.
Illinois for years gave public schools an option for a moment of silence. But that changed last year when legislators approved a measure to make the moment mandatory.
The law had always been called the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act. But now opponents of prayer in school point to that name as evidence the moment of silence is a disguised effort to require students to pray.
A lawsuit was filed and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in November blocking enforcement.
Davis hoped to end the controversy by changing the law's name to the Student Silent Reflection Act. But that measure failed on a 10-10 tie in a House education committee.
Opponents said they prefer another piece of legislation that would both change the name and let schools decide how to handle the issue.
Rep. John Fritchey, the sponsor of the competing measure, welcomed the committee's action, calling it a good sign that legislators on both sides of the aisle will seriously consider his idea.
"We should not be in the business of mandating a moment of silence," Fritchey said. "I'm confident that if my colleagues are able to put logic and constitutionality above rhetoric, that we will be able to pass this common sense piece of legislation."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said reversing the mandate would be "a good step," but it prefers eliminating the moment of silence altogether. Students should decide on their own whether they need a quiet moment of prayer or reflection, said spokesman Ed Yohnka.