Saturday, January 19, 2008

Ga. schools pass up chance to offer Bible classes

Almost two years after the Georgia legislature allowed public high schools to offer Bible classes, "The idea hasn't caught on," at least in Middle Georgia, which is "smack dab in the Bible Belt," writes Julie Hubbard of The Telegraph in Macon.

"At least 10 Middle Georgia school systems said they do not offer a Bible course in their high schools, nor do they have plans to," Hubbard writes. "The costs for materials, scheduling conflicts and possible legal implications are reasons." The state school board required any such class to be "taught by a teacher who is objective and would not pass on any religious judgment to students. For some school systems, managing the course and finding an unbiased teacher wouldn't be easy."

Hubbard says more reporting is required: "Finding exactly how many school of 180 systems in the state are teaching Bible courses this school year is hard to determine. State officials say they won't know how many systems are offering the courses until June, when student records -- which show what classes students are taking -- are sent to the state." (Read more)

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