In a new op-ed for Everett Herald, SEA Executive Director Molly Gaines examines the LifeWise lawsuit against Everett Schools and explains why neutrality in public education is not an attack on religion—but a constitutional safeguard for everyone.

At the center of the lawsuit is a familiar claim: that requiring public schools to remain religiously neutral amounts to hostility toward faith. But that framing misunderstands how constitutional protections work.

Public schools are mandatory, government-run institutions that serve students of every belief system at the same time. Because of that structure, the Constitution requires neutrality—not to suppress religion, but to prevent the state from exercising religious authority.

Students do not lose their rights at school. They may pray, form religious clubs, and express their beliefs. What schools may not do is endorse, organize, or privilege religious activity through institutional authority.

That distinction matters.

Neutrality ensures that no student’s belonging is determined by belief—and that government power is not used to elevate one worldview over others.

The lawsuit raises important questions about how we protect both religious freedom and constitutional limits. The answer is not hostility. It is clarity about where private belief ends and public authority begins.

You can read the full op-ed here: https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-lifewise-misreads-constitution-in-suing-everett-schools/

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