Compromise over Bible Class in Texas

Yesterday, a mediator in Odessa,Texas successfully negotiated the end of a dispute over a district's Bible course that--gasp!--has all parties walking away happy. At issue was a high school elective class that teaches the King James Bible with materials produced by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS).

The American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way Foundation sued the Ector County Independent school district in May 2007 on behalf of eight parents in the district, claiming the class promoted certain religious beliefs to students.

A mediator tailored a proposal that was approved last week by the district's trustees and earlier this week by the plaintiffs. Under the agreement, Ector County schools may not teach the current course after this school year. If the board decides to offer a different Biblecourse in the future, the course must follow strict legal standards for objectivity and may not be based on the NCBCPS curriculum.

Calling the agreement a "victory," Dr. T. Jeremy Gunn, Director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief said "It is unacceptable for government officials to decide which religious beliefs are true and which are not and then use the public school system as a means of proselytizing children."

Hiram Sasser of the Liberty Legal Institute, who represented the district, is also happy. Why? Because, after the dust settles, the district will "continue to offer a Bible course, it will be a curriculum of its own choosing, it may use portions of any existing curriculum as a resource, and the Bible will be the main textbook for the course."

--Tim Walker