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Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(1) The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article I, sections 5 and 11 of the Washington state Constitution guarantee that students retain their rights of free speech and free exercise of religion, notwithstanding the student's enrollment and attendance in a common school. These rights include, but are not limited to, the right of an individual student to freely express and incorporate the student's religious beliefs and opinions where relevant or appropriate in any and all class work, homework, evaluations or tests. School personnel may not grade the class work, homework, evaluation, or test on the religious expression but may grade the student's performance on scholastic content such as spelling, sentence structure, and grammar, and the degree to which the student's performance reflects the instruction and objectives established by the school personnel. School personnel may not subject an individual student who expresses religious beliefs or opinions in accordance with this section to any form of retribution or negative consequence and may not penalize the student's standing, evaluations, or privileges. An employee of the school district may not censure a student's expression of religious beliefs or opinions, when relevant or appropriate, in any class work, homework, evaluations or tests, extracurricular activities, or other activities under the sponsorship or auspices of the school district.
(2) This section is not intended to impose any limit on the exchange of ideas in the common schools of this state. No officer, employee, agent, or contractor of a school district may impose his or her religious beliefs on any student in class work, homework, evaluations or tests, extracurricular activities, or other activities under the auspices of the school district.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall distribute to the school districts information about laws governing students' rights of religious expression in school.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Washington Revised Code Title 28A. Common School Provisions § 28A.600.025. Students' rights of religious expression--Duty of superintendent of public instruction to inform school districts - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/wa/title-28a-common-school-provisions/wa-rev-code-28a-600-025/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.
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