Students' Rights

While there is no requirement to ask the administration or school board's permission to meet, it is wise and courteous to inform the administration about See You at the Pole™.

According to Supreme Court precedent and their constitutional rights, students already have permission. SYATP is student-led, it is before school hours, and it is outside of any school building. It does not cost the district anything financially for students to meet to pray, so they aren’t “establishing religion” with tax money. Read the United States Department of Education's statement on Religious Expression in Public Schools.

What about adults?
Legal counsel for SYATP has indicated that it is legal for adults (whether school employees or others) to participate in this before-school event. For more details, call the National Netowrk of Youth Ministries at 858.451.1111.

If opposed by administration, students should:
1. Know their rights. Students who take leadership should be willing to back up their beliefs, if necessary, by studying the materials available.
2. Plan their response. If ordered by a school official to disperse during SYATP, students should respectfully leave the school grounds and pray off campus. The goal of SYATP is to pray to God, not fight with man. They can make an appointment with the official later to discuss the situation.
3. Utilize their resources. Expert legal counsel is available from several groups offering free assistance to individuals in religious-liberty cases. Timely intervention has resolved almost every situation with a minimum of difficulty!
4. Remember they are representing Christ.


For more legal help contact:
Advocates for Faith and Freedom—888.588.6888
Alliance Defense Fund—800.835.5233
The American Center for Law and Justice—757.226.2489
Christian Legal Society—703.642.1070
The National Legal Foundation—757.463.6133
The Rutherford Institute—804.978.3888
Pacific Justice Institute—916.857.6900
United States Justice Foundation—760.741.8086