State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) is defending legislation she introduced that would require each local board of education to adopt a policy allowing elective credit to students who are released from the classroom to attend religious instruction during the school day.
“Parents want a faith based opportunity for their children,” DuBose said Tuesday on WVNN. “We know 76% of voters support moral and character education for public school students. So, you know, parents want it.”
An Alabama House committee is scheduled to consider HB342 on Wednesday.
“Well, I tell you what, when I talk to parents, they are very much in favor of this,” DuBose argued.
“They think this is a great idea, and it’s honestly a concept that a lot of people don’t even know about. I didn’t know about it until this summer, when I was going to some national legislative conferences and found out how popular this is throughout the United States, and it gives students an opportunity for perhaps one hour a week to go to a religious class, and usually it’s very close to the school, because you have to get there and back fast.”
While some in opposition to the legislation believe it violates separation between church and state, DuBose said the court precedent is on her side.
“Parents have to give permission,” she explained. “No public funds are used. But it’s an opportunity to have faith based education in the public school system, and this was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court all the way back in 1952 so it’s something that we could have been implementing for decades, and we see a renaissance now.”
She also pushed back against claims that it would interfere with other school work.
“You cannot miss core classes, and that’s in the legislation,” she said. “And parents have to give permission, no public funds can be used. The nonprofit faith based entity has to accept liability. You have to have a parent consent form so all the logical things could be in your policy, and you have to just make it fit within your school schedule. We’re not asking you to change your schedule at all. Some schools do it during library times, study hall time, you know, extracurriculars like music or art in the elementary schools, you could do it even during recess. You could do it during lunch.”
DuBose says elected school board members standing in the way of parents should take notice.
“We want parents to be a part of their kids lives, a part of their kids education. And parents are standing up for that now, and they’re going to elect the school board members that listen to them. And I think that we’re going to have a shift in school boards, if it hasn’t already. School boards are shifting.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
