Subcommittee clears bill aligning Bible study approval and LEA control

The Education Instruction Subcommittee unanimously voted to advance House Bill 1197 to the full Education Committee, with the clerk recording five ayes.

Sponsor Chairman Kumar told the committee the bill seeks to align two prior laws and clarify that local education agencies (LEAs) will approve academic, nondevotional study of the Bible while the Department of Education will list the names of LEAs that have approved such courses on its website. Kumar said the 1963 Supreme Court decision prohibiting mandatory Bible reading in public schools did not ban academic study of the Bible and that prior state laws contained inconsistent language about whether the Department or the State Board of Education approved curricula.

"This will allow the LEAs that are small and not able to develop their own biblical courses to obtain approved materials," Kumar said, explaining the bill removes the word "curriculum" and clarifies standards and course titles while leaving local approval authority with LEAs.

Representative Johnson asked whether public charter schools are included; Kumar confirmed charter schools, which the committee treated as public schools, would follow the same criteria. Representative Barrett praised the measure as providing additional information to students without mandating how students must live their lives.

The clerk recorded five ayes and the committee reported HB 1197 to full Education. The committee record does not include examples of specific course content, lists of approved materials, or any funding for the Department's website posting beyond the statutory direction to post names of approving LEAs.