News In Brief
| Washington
Supreme Court to weigh 'moment of silence' rule
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether the Constitution allows a ''moment of silence'' during which students can pray silently, meditate, or reflect in public classrooms.
The mere fact the justices agreed to review the matter gave hope to school prayer advocates, who have thus far failed to get Congress to make prayer a part of the school day.
At the same time it agreed to hear the moment-of-silence question, the court rejected an appeal by the Mobile, Ala., county school board to consider whether teacher-led school prayer - banned 22 years ago from public classrooms - is constitutional.
