WHEN WESTSIDE HIGH SCHOOL in Omaha, Nebraska, refused to let student Bridget Mergens set up an after-school religious club on campus in 1990, Bridget took her case to court. She won, but her opponents continue to argue that the presence of such clubs at school is a violation of the separation of church and state and, therefore, unconstitutional.

In New York City in 1991 politicians, parents, and clergy rallied to protest the board of education's decision to make condoms available in the city's high schools. Some people resented the board's endorsing a policy that seemed to weaken parental supervision and authority. Others believed the financially strapped school system could have found better ways to spend public money.

Clearly, extracurricular programs are no longer limited to such traditional activities as football, baseball, and honor society. Instead, students express themselves through options...