Teachers and coaches could gather with their students at prayer and religious observances before and after school, under a bill passed by the state House of Representatives today.
Representative Phillip Johnson’s bill would overrule an agreement between his hometown-Cheatham County school system and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The school board settled a lawsuit by agreeing that coaches and teachers shouldn’t meet with student religious groups on school grounds.
Johnson, a Republican from Pegram, says if the meetings are student-led and held before or after school hours, it should be all right.
House members agreed – 93 to nothing.
But Democratic Representative Johnny Shaw of Bolivar, himself a Baptist minister, raised a flag – the bill is not necessarily limited to Christian groups, he says.
This is going to not just include, what you and I believe – help me if I’m wrong – but it also could include giving freedom to people that we don’t necessarily…believe like us.
The Senate version of the bill comes up in the Senate Education Committee next week.
WEB EXTRA
Read the bill here.
The House threw away the original language and inserted this new amendment which somewhat simplifies the bill.
The ACLU’s Tennessee chapter argued with the Cheatham County school system for several years that teachers and coaches had too much influence over students to be leading religious observances on the school grounds.
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