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My math teacher used to wear a crucifix. When we asked her why she hasn’t been wearing it lately, she said the school asked her not to. Can they do that? Yes. Pennsylvania law says that public school staff can’t wear religious clothing or accessories while on the job. That prevents a nun from wearing a habit, a priest from wearing a Roman collar, a Muslim from wearing a veil, and a Jew from wearing a yarmulke or visible talit katan (fringes) while teaching. This prevents a teacher from promoting a particular religion. What about our teachers who have to keep their heads covered because of their religion? What can they wear? Teachers or staff can probably wear any head covering that doesn’t send a religious message to students. For example, a Jewish teacher could wear a baseball cap or other non-religious head covering, and a Muslim teacher could wear a scarf. These are okay because people wear baseball caps and scarves for many reasons. So a teacher isn’t identifying or promoting his or her religion just by wearing a baseball cap. Our school just adopted a mandatory school uniform policy. My parents object to the uniforms for religious reasons and don’t want me to wear one to school. Can the school make me wear a uniform? As we said in the Freedom of Expression section, the law in this area isn’t clear. You have a constitutional right to practice your religion, which includes the right to dress as required by your religion. School uniform policies should make allowances for that. Some schools put an “opt out” provision in their uniform policies in order to protect students’ right to religious and personal expression.
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