UPDATE: This piece has been updated to include a statement from Republican Pennsylvania Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill.
Pennsylvania state lawmakers are in the process of repealing a law that bans teachers from wearing religious emblems in the classroom.
The current bill aims to repeal Section 1112 of the Public School Code of 1949 stating that no teacher is allowed to wear a “dress, mark, emblem or insignia” that would indicate a specific religion when teaching students, and any teacher who is found to have violated the law is subjected to suspension for an entire year. State senators in the Senate Education Committee (SEC) voted Tuesday to move the “Protecting the First Amendment Right to Freedom of Religious Expression” bill forward to the state Senate to be voted on in the General Assembly, according to The Morning Call.
The new bill, proposed by Republican Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Democratic Sen. Judith L. Schwank, stalled twice in years past, but this time is supported by the Pennsylvania State Education Association which was originally in favor of the current ban, according to The Morning Call. The bipartisan bill details a 2003 case, Nichol v. Arin Intermediate Unit 28, where a teacher was suspended because she wore a cross necklace to school but was eventually reinstated after the United States District Court W.D. Pennsylvania ruled Arin Intermediate Unit 28’s policy violated the Constitution. (RELATED: Judge Rules Catholic Hospital Discriminated Against Transgender Individual By Not Offering Sex-Change Surgery)
Phillips-Hill told the Daily Caller News Foundation a “cross necklace” should not prevent a teacher from expressing their rights.
“Our First Amendment rights do not end simply because a teacher walks into a classroom,” Phillips-Hill noted. “The Pennsylvania Senate Education committee took an important step to protect our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression this week and I remain hopeful that the Senate can approve this measure in the coming weeks.”
HARRISBURG, PA – MARCH 21: Airplane flys over PA State Capitol Building with a banner reading “SEN. TOOMEY DO YOUR JOB! #FILLTHESEAT” during National Day Of Action calling on Senate Republicans to “Do Your Job” and uphold their constitutional obligation to give fair consideration to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland on March 21, 2016, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for MoveOn.org)
The bipartisan bill details a 2003 case, Nichol v. Arin Intermediate Unit 28, where the United States District Court W.D. Pennsylvania ruled that a policy by Arin Intermediate Unit 28 violated the Constitution.
In the 2019-2020 session, the bill failed to make it out of the SEC and in the 2020-2021 session, the bill made it through the Senate and the House Education Committee but did not pass the General Assembly. Phillips-Hill pointed out that a teacher has the same rights to religious expression given to the rest of Americans.
The Pennsylvania Senate Education committee took an important step to protect our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression this week and I remain hopeful that the Senate can approve this measure in the coming weeks,” Phillips-Hill said. “More importantly, this long overdue legislation needs to reach the governor’s desk in order to make Pennsylvania the 50th state to eradicate this archaic law once and for all.
Schwank did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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