COLUMBIA, S.C. — An email sent to South Carolina Department of Education employees is raising concerns about First Amendment rights in the workplace for state employees.
The email is from Llewellyn Sheally, the interim director of the Office of Assessment and Standards within the Department of Education. It explains there is a learning session and Q & A event being held on Aug. 1 with State Superintendent Ellen Weaver. The email states employees attending must stand up and introduce themselves, with their name and role, then finish a specific statement regarding what they believe is the best thing for the Department of Education to do for students.
The prompt says, "I believe it is essential for SCDE to provide _______ for every child to reach their full, God-given potential."
An employee contacted News19 and asked if everyone attending had to say the "God-given" part of the statement.
We contacted the State Department of Education about the event and the statement attendees were told to fill out.
The department responded, saying, "Superintendent Weaver was speaking from her heartfelt conviction that we are all here to help the children of south carolina reach their full, God-given potential. Of course, her intent was not to compel religious speech, nor would she."
Constitution lawyer Jay Bender said prompting or suggesting the statement at all violates the First Amendment.
"I think it's crazy, it doesn't matter. It's the state imposing a religious test on employees, that's unconstitutional. The first amendment protects your ability to practice religion as you see fit, and that includes the ability not to have a religion and certainly not to have to acknowledge one that the state seeks to impose on you," Bender explained.
The department clarified the event was only for internal staff and not for teachers.
It also says the statement was a suggested prompt and that the South Carolina Department of Education was not compelling speech.