Now, let's see what has happened when the courts have actually ruled on the issue of schools putting up religious displays.
Stone v. Graham
In Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Kentucky statute was unconstitutional and in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because it lacked a nonreligious, legislative purpose. The statute required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall of each public classroom in the state. While the copies of the Ten Commandments were purchased with private funding, the Court ruled that because they were being placed in public classrooms they were in violation of the First Amendment.
And in Joki v. Board of Education Schuylerville School District, we had almost the exact same issue as the OP. In Joki, the issue was over a painting of Jesus on the cross. The school had allowed a senior to paint the image in 1965. From the ruling (which is a good read and covers much of the relevant case law on this issue)...
Taking into account the significant message behind the Crucifixion and the skeptical way in which the Court views sectarian messages in public schools, this court concludes as a matter of law that the painting has the primary effect of endorsing Christianity. First, the school displays the painting permanently and not part of any holiday setting. Further, the school's display contains no placards to explain the paintings meaning or reason for being there. Cf. Allegheny, 109 S.Ct. at 3123 (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment) (presence of sign saluting liberty in Christmas display sends message of freedom rather than endorsement of religion); id. at 3114-3115 (opinion of Blackmun, J.). Moreover, this is not a case where the school displays the painting as part of a student art exhibit.
The judge awarded a summary judgement to the plaintiffs (which basically means this was a slam dunk case).
See A4T?
That's how you cite case law to support your side in a debate.
