GA School District OKs Elective Bible Courses
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SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 05/09/2007
The Muscogee County school board in Georgia has approved new Bible courses as electives for 11th and 12th graders, making it one of a handful of the state's 180 school districts that have agreed to offer the classes.
The Georgia Board of Education approved a list of state-funded Bible classes in March, after the state legislature passed a law in 2006 allowing school districts to decide whether to permit the courses as electives in high schools. Muscogee is one of the state's largest districts to offer Bible courses, but so far, there hasn't been a rush by many schools to do the same.
Muscogee's school board chose to use the New King James Version as a textbook and The Bible and Its Influence (Bible Literacy Project, 2005) by Cullen Schippe and Chuck Stetson as the supplementary textbook for the courses, which will focus on the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments.
As the first state to approve the use of the Bible as a textbook in public schools, Georgia may now have to deal with how religion can be taught in classrooms without violating the separation of church and state. Many critics say the classes could easily turn into an endorsement of Christianity.
Board member Pat Hugley Green told the Associated Press that she wants the courses closely monitored so the board can quickly be made aware of any problems that might arise.
Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas have considered similar plans this year, but none has received final approval.
