Georgia House Education Committee approved bill that would allow schools to offer courses on the Bible
The Georgia House Education Committee has approved a bill that would allow public high schools to offer courses on the Bible. Senate Bill 79 (SB 79) would require the Georgia State Board of Education (GBOE) to adopt curricula for two electives,
History and Literature of the Old Testament Era and
History and Literature of the New Testament Era. Although legal experts acknowledge that teaching an academic course on the Bible is constitutionally permissible, some members of the House believe SB 79, which passed in the Senate by a vote of 50 to 1, will allow Bible study from a Christian perspective. Even though the bill requires the courses to be taught in an "objective and nondevotional" manner, Maggie Garrett, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, contends that requiring teachers to use the Bible is problematic, especially when texts from other religions are excluded. During the committee's hearings, Ms. Garrett urged to the legislators to rethink their approach and put additional precautions in the bill. Several committee members who support the bill countered Ms. Garrett's claims, pointing out that SB 79 permits a range of reading material, including "selections" from other religious texts. However, when committee member Representative Alisha Morgan offered an amendment to the bill specifying that the Quran, the Torah, and other religious books could be used, it was rejected. Sadie Fields, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Georgia, applauds the committee's vote in favor of SB 79. "The Bible is the basis for Western civilization," she says. "Having a child go to school and study history and not understand the biblical influence on historical documents is ludicrous."
Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionBy Bridget Gutierrez
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Editor's Note: For background on the legislation, see below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Georgia Bible course bill]