Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Religious Freedom Home Study Coops topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves bill clarifying protections for churches and home‑study cooperatives
Summary
HB371, the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act amendments, was reported favorably after the committee adopted multiple amendment packages; debate centered on protections for church use of facilities and child-safety concerns for home-study cooperatives.
The Senate Committee on Education on an unspecified date reported HB371 favorably after adopting two amendment packages. Representative Omidy, the bill sponsor, said House Bill 371 amends the state's Preservation of Religious Freedom Act to clarify protections for places of worship and to define and protect home-study cooperatives and partnerships used by families for religious education and virtual-school support.
"The free exercise of religion is a fundamental right," Representative Omidy said, describing the bill as the product of consultations with pastors, parents, the Department of Education and advocacy groups. He said the bill would bar the government from imposing restrictions on churches that are "more onerous than restrictions imposed on secular businesses" and would protect churches that allow use of facilities for home-study cooperatives, mom's-day-out programs, vacation Bible school and similar activities.
The committee adopted a multi-part amendment package (2,686) that, among other things, defines home-study cooperatives and includes provisions to allow partnerships involving students enrolled in public virtual or charter schools who wish to use church facilities for supervised work. Senator Hodges' amendment package (28,78) was also adopted; those amendments include language concerning "release time" policies allowing local school boards to adopt policies to make after-school religious instruction available.
Department of Education staff member Ashley Townsend answered members' questions about the department's role and said LDOE approves home-study applications but does not regulate the locations where home instruction occurs. Several senators pressed for assurance about child-safety practices in cooperative settings; Senator Jackson Andrews said he would work with proponents before the bill's floor consideration to add a mechanism for background checks when non-parent adults teach in co-op settings.
Supporters submitted green cards from religious and homeschool organizations; no roll-call tally is recorded in the transcript. Senator Andrews moved to report the bill favorably; the committee recorded no objections and reported HB371 as favorable.
