Throw the teachers in jail...a poll

Greg Laden is entirely correct the case in question reference by this poll is about some teachers who are being tried for contempt of court, and this particular court case is not about separation of church and state. However, the poll is asking a more general question:

Should educators be fined or jailed for offering prayer in public schools?

Yes (12.6%)
No (87.4%)

I say yes: teachers who organize sectarian prayer in their classroom are betraying their trust and are in violation of the principle of separation of church and state. Imagine the outcry if a teacher were a Satanist and tried to lead the class in a demonic invocation — as stupid and ineffective as such a ritual would be, parents would be rightly irate that their kids were being indoctrinated into a religion, and compelled by pressure from an authority figure to participate in a rite they find odious. The classroom must remain secular, and although I might quibble with the details of the punishment (they ought to be fired for violations, not necessarily jailed or fined), there has to be a way to sanction such actions.

That also goes for teachers who push atheism in the public schools.