Harrington letter: Bible in schools

Shame on the Idaho legislators who voted to pass Senate Bill 1321, which directly contradicts our Idaho Constitution. The bill was proposed by Sheryl Nuxoll (R-District 7) in the Senate Education Committee. It reads, in part, “The Bible is expressly permitted to be used in Idaho public schools….” The bill goes on to say, “… for reference purposes…” as if that is going to make a difference. (legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2016/S1321.pdf)

Article 9, Section 6, of our Idaho Constitution reads, in part, “No sectarian or religious tenets or doctrines shall ever be taught in the public schools.” And “No books, papers, tracts or documents of a political, sectarian or denominational character shall be used or introduced in any schools established under the provisions of this article, nor shall any teacher or any district receive any of the public school moneys in which the schools have not been taught in accordance with the provisions of this article.” (sos.idaho.gov/elect/stcon/articl09.htm)

So, we are not only going to unnecessarily be spending taxpayer money in court because of this bill’s obvious unconstitutionality, but we’re going to be jeopardizing our schools’ public monies because certain people think their personal religious opinions are above our state constitution.

Governor Otter: Veto.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Harrington letter: Bible in schools."