The Evanston/Skokie District 65 Board of Education postponed implementing a recently approved statewide law that would require public schools to observe a “brief period of silence” at the beginning of each school day at their meeting Monday night.

State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston) wrote a letter Oct. 18 to Board President Mary Erickson urging the district to apply for a mandate-waiver from the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act because he feels the law is “coercive.” At Monday night’s meeting, however, Erickson said the district cannot apply for an exemption because the mandate has not been adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education.

The meeting then shifted to an open debate between the board members over their personal reactions to the law.

Mary Rita Luecke questioned what penalties, if any, would be assessed to a district or teacher that fails to comply with the law.

Superintendent Hardy Murphy listed the powers of the Illinois State Board of Education, including withholding funds and other sanctions, but ultimately the board came to the consensus that there would be no realistic penalties because the mandate is not currently included in the Illinois School Code.

The five of seven board members who oppose the law – Luecke, Erickson, Jerome Summers, Katie Bailey and Andrew Pigozzi – said they saw problems with the law’s connection to issues of separation of church and state.

“I pray every day, ” Summers said. “However, I don’t know if it can have a place in the school day and still be constitutional.”

Most board members expressed concern that the law bordered on violating the First Amendment. Pigozzi noted that supporters of the law include the Concerned Christian Americans and the Illinois Family Institute.

Bailey also criticized the mandate for possibly desensitizing students to the importance of more significant moments of silence, such as the ones that commemorated the 9/11 tragedy. Finally, she described the law as intrusive for “telling teachers what to do in the classroom.”

Erickson added there is “ample opportunity for kids to pray on their own.” She said no one would stop a student from quietly saying grace before lunch.

Keith Terry and Bonnie Lockhart supported the act.

“Fifteen seconds of silent reflection is a good thing,” Terry said. “(The law) does not say vocal prayer; it says silent reflection.”

He also said he believes the law has been criticized mostly because “people do not like legislative mandates.”

Lockhart addressed complaints that the law lacked guidelines for implementation. She said the board and other members of the district would “know immediately” if a teacher were to act inappropriately in executing a daily moment of silence because word-of-mouth news travels quickly in District 65.

Comments from the public, however, echoed the sentiments of the board majority.

Kelly Austin, mother of two Orrington Elementary School students, said she believes the job of educators is to educate children, whereas other issues, such as faith, should be left to parents. She also said the law puts “too much pressure on teachers,” especially at a school like Orrington, which enrolls students from 18 different countries and diverse religious practices.

Another Orrington parent, Jacki Davidoff, criticized the law for putting students who do not pray in a position where they feel uncomfortable because they don’t have a religious background.

After about one hour of discussion, the board decided it will await further action by the Illinois General Assembly or Illinois State Board of Education before it ultimately decides whether or not to enforce the mandate in its schools.

Reach Sean Walsh at [email protected].