Missourians to vote on prayer in school - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

A Constitutional amendment on the Missouri ballot in August will ask Missourians if they support that school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their school. 

It states: "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure:

-That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed;

-That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and

-That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution."

Dr. Tom Sharp is the superintendent of Dexter schools.

"But it's very difficult to phrase it in such a way that there's absolute clarity as to what is acceptable and what is not," Sharp said. "It doesn't give enough directions. There's not enough clarity in the language itself as to what is an acceptable behavior, what is a protected behavior, and what is not."

Regardless of where voters stand, school officials say if the amendment was put into place now, there would be a lot of different ways to interpret it.

Right now, Dr. Sharp says he's taking a wait-and-see approach.

"An informed voter has to look at the full text of the amendment itself, not just the three bullet summation," Shard said.

[Read the entire amendment. (pdf)]

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