Speak Out: School Board Sued for Service Policy

Christian alliance says Fairfax policy to accept only volunteer activities with a secular purpose is unconstitutional. Tell us: Should religious activities count toward service hours?

Fairfax County's school board is facing legal action from a Christian group that said denying a student's church-related service hours for National Honor Society requirements discriminates against religious students. The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Arizona, is representing the student. A spokesman told the Washington Post excluding activities widely considered "community service" in non-religious contexts is "an unconstitutional policy that needs to be remedied." The student, an unnamed senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, submitted 46 church-related volunteer hours as part of a requirement for membership in the National Honor Society, which requires 12 hours per school year. The hours were spent as a …

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