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64 Alb. L. Rev. 225 (2000-2001)
Religious Clubs in the Public Schools: What Happened after Mergens

handle is hein.journals/albany64 and id is 237 raw text is: RELIGIOUS CLUBS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: WHAT HAPPENED AFTER MERGENS? Dena S. Davis* I. INTRODUCTION The Equal Access Act,' upheld by the Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Mergens,2 requires public secondary schools to allow access to religiously based student groups on the same basis as other student clubs.' Mergens presents many challenges to civil libertarians, who may find their traditional sympathies aligned on both sides of the issue. This article seeks to throw light on some of those issues by reporting on a research project that ascertained the actual effect of the Act on public high schools in Ohio.5 II. LEGAL BACKGROUND In Widmar v. Vincent,6 the Supreme Court held that a public university in the State of Missouri was required to allow religiously based student groups the same access to school facilities as it afforded to other student groups.7 If a public university adopts a * Professor, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University. J.D., University of Virginia, 1990; Ph.D. (Religion), University of Iowa, 1986. 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074 (1994). 2 496 U.S. 226 (1990). See 20 U.S.C. § 4071(a) (noting public secondary schools that receive federal funding and have what is known as a limited open forum cannot deny access to nor discriminate against students who wish to conduct meetings based on the religious content of the speech at such meetings). See infra Part III (outlining the tension between the need for freedom of speech and the coercive environment of public secondary schools that could lead to undue pressure on students to accept religious doctrine). ' See infra Part IV (discussing data from The Mergens Project, a telephone survey of Ohio's public high school districts seeking information on religiously based student clubs and organizations). 6 454 U.S. 263 (1981). 7 See id. at 277. In Widinar, students from a registered religious group called Cornerstone sued the university after the group was told they could no longer use the university buildings to conduct meetings. Id. at 265. The university had adopted a policy that prohibited the use of any university buildings 'for purposes of religious worship or religious teaching.' Id. at 265.

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