The Tennessee State House is considering a bill that would require public schools to teach Bible lessons and allow for prayer time and reading of religious texts during the day.
The state House Judiciary Committee ran out of time to hear the bill last week, but said it would be heard at its next meeting.
State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) introduced House Bill (HB) 1491, which would require the Bible to be taught as literature.
On top of this, the bill proposal seeks to provide “age-appropriate instruction on the history of Israel, the stories and the moral and ethical teachings of the Old and New Testaments, the life of Jesus, the history of the early Christian church, and the Bible’s influence on western civilization.”
HB 1491 does not permit the Bible to be taught as religious dogma or in a way that makes students “believe or accept the Bible as divinely inspired.” The bill proposal also prevents the Bible from being taught in a way that “violates the Establishment Clause as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Any student who does not want to participate in Bible-related instruction can provide a written request from a parent to be excused from the classes, HB 1491 states. If students are 18 years old, they can sign the written request themselves.
Another thing the bill proposal mandates is that public schools provide a designated time for students to pray or read the Bible or other religious texts.
For students or employees to participate in the designated prayer time, they need to submit a signed consent form to the school district or public charter school that acknowledges they have the choice to participate in the designated prayer time and don’t object to “hearing the prayers or readings offered during the period.”
The signed consent form would also have participants agree to settle any potential lawsuits through arbitration, HB 1491 states.
The bill proposal says students must provide a written request from a parent or themselves, if they are over 18, to participate in the designated prayer time.
The time period for these designated prayer times to take effect would occur before regular school hours or other methods “recommended by the attorney general and reporter or legal counsel for the district or school,” HB 1491 notes, adding that this designated time can not be used as a “substitute for instructional time.”
The Bible or other religious texts would be prevented from being read as a prayer on the public address system, the bill proposal states.
If students or parents believe the public school is failing to meet the requirements for the designated prayer time, they may take legal action, HB 1491 says.
They would be able to seek declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as court costs and attorney fees.
If one part of the bill is ruled invalid, it does not invalidate the other parts, HB 1491 states.
The bill proposal would take effect on July 1 if signed into law.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
