MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) -- Junior varsity cheerleaders in this St. Louis suburb are decrying a school district rule that will bar them from participating in a statewide tournament because their competition falls on a Sunday.

Superintendent Sam McGowen says the policy of prohibiting student activities and athletic practices on Sundays and after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays was to set aside time for students to be with their families and attend religious services.

The decades-old rule is to support the community, not any religion or faith, he said. And he presses that the administration was unwilling to make an exception, because school leaders believe "this is something the community as a whole wants," McGowan said.

But some parents sniff that such decisions should be left to the families and not school administrators, adding such policies may cross the line separating church and state.

Both Mascoutah's varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads advanced through a regional tournament to qualify for the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association championship in Springfield on Feb. 9-10.

The varsity girls will compete that Saturday, though the junior varsity girls will have to remain home because their event is on Sunday.

"It's just really disappointing that we worked this hard and didn't get to go to state," said Claire Benoist, a sophomore on the junior varsity squad. "It's a school rule, and I don't know if I need to go any further than that."

Her mother, Celeste Benoist, fumes that whether her daughter competes on a Sunday should be a family matter, not a school one.

"That's my choice to make," the Catholic mother said, noting she wouldn't let her daughter join an activity that regularly took her away from Sunday services. But the tournament would have been an exception.

"I believe Sunday is a sacred day. But this is a celebration of the girls' dedication and accomplishments," Celeste Benoist said. "If they had practice every Sunday, I probably wouldn't let my daughter be on the squad. But this is a special occasion, and I feel like they are being punished for no reason."

Sunday events are rare at other Metro East schools, though most district officials say they're not banned. Governing state high school athletic associations in Illinois and Missouri have no policies against Sunday competition.

Still, education experts differ on whether a "no-Sundays" rule threatens church-state separation.

Thomas Hutton, the National School Boards Association's senior staff attorney, says it's acceptable if school districts cite a "neutral" reason for the rule, including the need for more family time or a break from student activities.

But to Glen Epley, the head of the Department of Teacher Education at Florida's Stetson University, said school officials must prove the policies didn't propel any one religion or faith over others. The days and times of Mascoutah's rules are suspect because they coincide with traditional Protestant Christian services, he said.

Students who could challenge the rule in court, Epley submits, "would have an excellent case."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)