Separation between church and state is no longer a thing in Kentucky public schools

After Governor Matt Bevin signed House Bill 128 into law this Tuesday, the state of Kentucky will allow its public schools the option of teaching bible courses to its students.

According to CNN, the law gives local school boards the option to offer “bible literacy” as part of their social studies curriculum. The courses would be electives, not requirements.

“The idea that we would not want this to be an option for people in school, that would be crazy,” Bevin said at the signing ceremony. “I don’t know why every state would not embrace this, why we as a nation would not embrace this.”

Governor Matt Bevin speaking at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. (Image via Gage Skidmore)

But as expected, the new law is getting pushback from secular groups.

From CNN affiliate WDRB:

The ACLU of Kentucky said it’s concerned about how the law might be used in schools.

“A Bible literacy bill that, on its face, may not appear to be unconstitutional, could in fact become unconstitutional in its implementation,” said Advocacy Director Kate Miller.

Miller told WDRB News the ACLU will monitor the law closely.

“We want to make sure that teachers can teach and make sure that they don’t go in to preach,” Miller said.

Supporters point out that the state Department of Education will help schools develop the course.

“As long as we’re careful with the curriculum itself, there won’t be any constitutional issues,” Johnson said. “And we’ll do that.”

But Governor Bevin still doesn’t get what all the fuss is about. “You could be an atheist, and you would appreciate there’s a lot of wisdom in the Bible,” he said.

Featured image via Flickr

 

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.