Last modified: Monday, October 12, 2009 2:19 AM EDT State Rep. Betty Poirier (Staff file photo by Mark Stockwell) Free speech, religion and the classroom BY BRITTANY ABERY and JUSTIN MEISINGER FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE BOSTON - Prayer and religion at public schools have been topics of debate for decades. Now Beacon Hill is taking up the issue, looking at legislation that would give students specific rights of religious expression. State Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said the legislation guarantees students' rights to free speech, treating religion "just like any other secular issue." Poirier said the legislation is important because the place of religion in public schools is often controversial. "This gives students the right to speak," she said. "There's no reason that you shouldn't have your constitutional rights to express yourself when you enter a school." State Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, said the bill clarifies the rights of educators and students - explicitly allowing students to engage in prayer or a moment of silence in public ceremonies and extracurricular groups. "Now, schools are so concerned because of lawsuits that they don't allow anything," deMacedo, the bill's primary sponsor, told the Joint Committee on Education last week. He pointed to a case in 2002 in which a Westfield High School student was sued by a classmate's family when he attached a religious message to candy canes handed out at Christmas. A federal court eventually ruled in favor of the boy, but the bill's sponsors want to ensure other students don't end up in the courts. Attleboro High School Principal Jeffrey Newman said he hadn't seen the legislation, but he supports students' rights to express themselves at school. "We try to accommodate students," Newman said. "We do what we can to follow the law." He said it hasn't been a big issue for his school. "Students have expressed their religion publicly in the past, and it hasn't been a problem," Newman said. North Attleboro High School Principal Robert Gay agreed. "Our school doesn't have a written policy," he said. "We've never really needed one." Gay said students should be entitled to all their First Amendment rights, both in and outside of classroom. "I hate to see so many laws dictating what goes on in the schools," Gay said. "But those laws are brought about by a wrong occurring someplace." Sponsors hope that better defining students' rights and protecting schools from lawsuits will encourage administrators to give their students more latitude. "People should be free to express their opinion," Poirier said. "Schools shouldn't have to fear litigious action just for letting students speak." The bill has broad bipartisan support, and the committee is expected to send the bill to the House with a favorable recommendation.