For many years, the public schools in Mercer County, West Virginia, have offered a weekly Bible class during every school day. The classes, taught by regular, fulltime members of the schools' teaching staffs, are 30 minutes long in the elementary schools and 45 minutes long in the middle schools. This program is not mandatory—students may opt out and, during the Bible classes, go instead to the school library to read. The classes are very popular with parents and community members. Almost every child in the county attends. You represent two country residents, parents of school-age and public school-attending children, who object to the county offering these Bible study classes. If they decide to litigate, what constitutional arguments **within the scope of this Constitutional Law II course** can you raise on their behalf, and how are they likely to be resolved?
