School Choice & Charters News in Brief

Idaho, Charter School Still at Odds Over Use of Bible as Text

By The Associated Press — December 08, 2009 1 min read
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The Idaho attorney general’s office has told officials at a charter school that the state won’t back down from pursuing information about the school’s possible use of the Bible and other religious texts.

Nampa Classical Academy is defying an order from the Idaho Public Charter School Commission to turn over the data. The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based religious-liberty group that is defending the school, threatened in a letter to sue the commission if it continues to seek the information.

The school drew attention last summer when school officials said they planned to use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion. The commission told the academy it couldn’t use the Bible as an instructional text. The charter commissions chairman, Bill Goesling, said the use of religious texts would likely lead to the revocation of the schools charter.

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A version of this article appeared in the December 09, 2009 edition of Education Week as Idaho, Charter School Still at Odds Over Use of Bible as Text

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