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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called a Nashville public school\u2019s accommodation of Muslim students during Ramadan \u201cblatantly unconstitutional,\u201d saying the school crossed the line from allowing religious exercise to actively promoting it.<\/p>\n
In a Tuesday interview<\/a> with the Tennessee Star, Skrmetti responded to reports that a Metro Nashville Public Schools employee set up a dedicated Islamic prayer room at John Overton High School and encouraged Muslim students to skip class to use it.<\/p>\n \u201cFree exercise says the government can\u2019t stop you from practicing your religion,\u201d Skrmetti explained. \u201cThe establishment clause, as interpreted, and as we hear about every time the legislature tries to do anything these days, says that the state can\u2019t \u2026 participate in promoting particular religious viewpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8BREAKING \u2013 I asked @AGTennessee<\/a> Skrmetti today if the MNPS decision to allow Muslim prayers during school hours in a dedicated room led by an MNPS employee at Overton High School coerces non-Muslim students and violates the Religious Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. pic.twitter.com\/LhaaXAwEgL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) April 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n John Overton High School, according to a report<\/a> from the Nashville Banner, permitted over 80 students to skip class daily during Ramadan prayer sessions, in addition to separate \u201cfood-free\u201d classrooms for fasting students and the aforementioned dedicated prayer rooms. Outside of the month of Ramadan, students are reportedly permitted to leave school grounds once a month to pray.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if the school is dedicating resources to something, that\u2019s a very different situation than if the students are self-organizing,\u201d Skrmetti added. \u201cI look at it as an attempt to propagandize and proselytize [non-Muslim] students. That\u2019s my view.\u201d<\/p>\n In a similar vein, the U.S. Department of Education guidance released in February states<\/a> that \u201cpublic schools may not sponsor prayer nor coerce or pressure students to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSchool officials should allow members of the public school community to act and speak according to their faith, as long as\u2026 The school itself does not engage in religious activities or speech as an institution,\u201d the guidance continues.<\/p>\n The Tennessee attorney general teased further state action on the issue, concluding: \u201cI expect that we\u2019ll be hearing more about it one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n The controversy comes as Tennessee lawmakers grapple with the role of religion in public schools more broadly. State House Bill 1491, which would have required public schools to set aside a period for prayer and Bible reading, was temporarily tabled<\/a> in a 12-7 committee vote last week in favor of further research on the issue over the summer.<\/p>\n Proponents of the bill argue that the bill aligns with the Supreme Court\u2019s Kennedy v. Bremerton<\/em> decision in 2022, which held that the First Amendment protects individuals engaging in religious activities from government reprisal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n