On the recordFebruary 3, 1994
locally elected school boards ought to have the right to adopt a policy providing for constitutionally protected voluntary school prayer. However, that is not the effect of the Helms amendment. Instead, the Helms amendment is an example of the Federal Government's, in effect, imposing on locally elected school boards the requirement that they allow voluntary prayer in school as long as it would not violate the Constitution. In other words, it could override a locally elected school board's decision not to allow voluntary school prayer if that school board seeks any funding from the Department of Education. At a time of increasing concern about Federal mandates and the overriding of local decisionmaking, this amendment is particularly troublesome because it is in the context of our first amendment freedoms. it is for that reason that I will vote against it.
Source
govinfo.gov
