Committee pulls science references from Bible bill

BOISE — A Senate bill calling for state code specifying the legality of Bible references in Idaho public schools was sent to be amended Friday by the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Committee members called for references to several science subjects to be removed from the bill’s language.

Senate bill 1342, sponsored by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, would spell out a right already legal in Idaho to reference the Bible in public schools. The bill would not require students to use religious texts for reference purposes if they or their parents objected.

“Everyone should have the right to believe what they want to believe,” Nuxoll said. “This is not mandating anything.”

The bill passed the Senate Education Committee last week with opposition from Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, who questioned whether the bill would spark a need for other bills to be drafted that codify the legality of referencing other religious texts.

The bill included a list of appropriate classes for the Bible to be referenced for the purpose of furthering study, including astronomy, geology, and biology — a specificity Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, took issue with in the State Affairs Committee.

Lakey proposed the bill be amended to strike the words “astronomy, geology, biology,” saying the use of the Bible in those contexts could promote the teaching of creationism in class. Nuxoll said she would be willing to strike proposed the language from the bill.

Kathy Griesmeyer, public policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, testified against the bill for similar reasons as Lakey, saying the use of the Bible is best restricted to courses where teachers are presenting in context with other like pieces, such as comparative religion or literature classes.

“Creationism and the Bible have no place in public school science classes, and legislation that permits otherwise raises serious constitutional issues,” Griesmeyer said.

Sen. Nuxoll said she would be willing to strike the hard sciences from the bill.

Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, and Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, were also hesitant to accept the bill as is. Both asked Nuxoll whether she would be willing to add the term “religious texts” to the legislation to ensure all religious texts, including the Bible, would be allowed as references in school.

The committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the 14th order for the recommended amendments.