News Release

Religion in public schools to be topic
of UNC School of Law symposium

CHAPEL HILL – Several of the most prominent voices in the national debate over religion in public schools will take part in a daylong symposium on Feb. 24 sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law’s First Amendment Law Review.

The fourth-annual symposium will be held at the Carolina Inn, adjacent to the UNC campus. Symposium attendance (including a continental breakfast) is complimentary, but a $25 fee applies for those who wish to have lunch on-site. The symposium is certified for six hours of CLE credit at a cost of $13.50 for registrants. Pre-registration is required; information is available at http://falr.unc.edu/register.html.

The keynote speaker will be William Van Alstyne, Lee professor of law at the College of William & Mary and a nationally regarded expert on constitutional law.

Designed for attorneys, educators and the public alike, the symposium will feature panel discussions centering on three of the most pressing issues related to religion in public schools today.

Speakers will discuss constitutional questions associated with the following topics:

• The teaching of intelligent design in public school classrooms;
• The words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and government-sponsored religious exercises in public schools; and
• The possible reintroduction of religious symbols in classrooms in light of a reconstituted Supreme Court.

Members of the legal, religious and education communities will give remarks regarding these issues. Dr. Michael Newdow, plaintiff and attorney in the cases challenging inclusion of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, will be a panelist. Two prominent scientists also will discuss the validity of the theories of intelligent design and evolution.

Other panelists include:

• Anthony R. Picarello Jr., president and general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. In November 2005, the Becket Fund filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seeking to reverse the U.S. District Court’s injunction prohibiting recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools. 
• Dr. Scott Minnich, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Idaho. Minnich recently testified as an expert witness in support of the teaching of intelligent design in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. The case resulted in a federal court holding the teaching of intelligent design in Pennsylvania public schools to violate the First Amendment.
• Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Katskee represented plaintiffs in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.

For a full list of expected panelists and information on symposium registration, visit http://falr.unc.edu/symposium.html. The 2006 Symposium Edition of the First Amendment Law Review – featuring articles from presenters and others on the subject of religion in the public schools – will be published next fall.

The First Amendment Law Review is a legal journal edited by students at UNC’s School of Law. The review, which is published twice a year, seeks to promote and protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment through publishing scholarly writings on, and promoting discussion of, issues related to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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First Amendment Law Review contact: Aaron Young, (919) 619-7325 or younga@email.unc.edu

UNC School of Law contact: Matt Marvin, (919) 962-4125 or mmarvin@email.unc.edu