The noise over silence.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Public debates regarding moments of silence and school prayers

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Illinois is embroiled in a lawsuit over whether students and teachers must observe a brief period of silence at the opening of every school day. The state's previous law stated that students and teachers "may" observe a brief period of silence, while the new statue requires them to do so. Vetoed by the governor, but overturned by the legislature, the law is now the subject of a suit by a father, on behalf of his daughter, who claims that the statute is vague and does not specify how the law should be implemented or enforced. A U.S. district judge has prevented the child's school district and the state superintendent of education from implementing the new statute.

This is the latest action in a long-standing public debate about prayer in schools. Those who oppose school prayer and moment-of-silence policies assert that they violate First Amendment rights because public schools are government entities and cannot endorse religion. Those in favor maintain that voluntary prayer does not amount to the government promoting or establishing a religion. The courts have allowed student prayer in public school only if the prayer is not disruptive, does not violate the rights of others, and is voluntary. In addition, a student must not be forced to listen to or be coerced into praying.

The courts have looked favorably on policies that show no preference for prayer but simply...