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Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth said on Thursday that legislation allowing public school students to participate in off-campus religious and character instruction during school hours has his “full, 100 percent, committed support,” and he called upon the State Senate to approve the measure as soon as possible.
“If a parent wants their child to receive supervised, off-campus, bible-based character education as an elective, they should certainly have that option, especially in a state like Alabama, where faith, morals, and traditional values reign supreme” Ainsworth said. “Students are already permitted to leave campus for any number of programs, such as career tech training that hones their skills and builds their talents, so I believe we should also allow them to leave for Bible instruction that hones their faith and builds their character.”
Senate Bill 278 by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, requires each local board of education to implement a policy allowing elective credit to students who are released from the classroom to attend elective religious instruction during the school day.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Zoarch v. Clauson that released time religious instruction is both constitutional and allowable.
Programs proposed under the legislation would utilize only private dollars, not taxpayer dollars, and no school personnel would be involved in providing the Bible-based education.
The programs would also assume full liability for students during their excused release time and provide safe and reliable roundtrip transportation. Strict attendance records must be kept and made available to the school as well.
Most importantly, no instructional time in core subjects would be lost by those choosing the elective.
“During public hearings held on this bill, no school official or superintendent opposing its passage has offered a single valid argument against it,” Ainsworth said. “Thousands of students in hundreds of schools across 13 other states already participate in this much-needed, commonsense elective, and Alabama needs to join their ranks now.”
