The policy of giving the muslims a room to pray is necessary in order to protect their right to free exercise. If they were to bow east in the middle of class that would be disruptive.
I know of no particular instructions regarding Christian prayer that would pre-empt any student from praying anywhere on school property at any time during the school day.
Do you?
It should also be noted that schools can and do allow students to form their own prayer groups and bible study groups and use school property to do so.
Not according to some schools - when a religious group took a school in Connecticut to court about equal access to school facilities after hours, the court ruled in the group's favor. The school administration responded by eliminating ALL access to the school after hours. I'm not a Christian, but there is a distinct anti-Christian bias in many school districts that you refuse to acknowledge.
If the Muslims are required to pray in a certain manner, it doesn't sound like "free" exercise to me. It sounds like our government is abetting the enforcement of Muslim laws in our schools.
And it sounds especially coercive to less devout Muslim students who do NOT want to participate in the prayers. Perhaps some of them were hoping to have real religious freedom in the US and now the other Muslim students will be keeping them in line, religiously speaking, because they will be able to report back to parents or Imams.
Do we really want to help an Imam enforce religious rules on students in our schools?
The Muslims really need to open their own schools to exercise their rights, like other religious groups in America do. The less devout Muslim students in the public schools should NOT feel intimidated by those that more strictly adhere to their faith.