Engel v. Vitale (1962)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
The New York Board of Regents authorized a short, voluntary prayer to be recited in public schools. Parents challenged it, and the Supreme Court ruled that state-sponsored prayer in public schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

3) Why It Mattered
This was the first case to clearly ban official school prayer. It reinforced the separation of church and state in the public education system.