School Choice & Charters News in Brief

Idaho Charter School Warned on Use of Bible in Classroom

By The Associated Press — December 01, 2009 1 min read
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The Idaho Public Charter School Commission has reprimanded the publicly financed Nampa Classical Academy over the use of religious texts in the classroom that included the Bible.

The agency last month sent the charter school a “notice of defect”—the first step in a lengthy process that could result in closure—after reviewing an academy reading list for high school students. The charter school’s administrators said earlier this year they would use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion. The plan prompted the commission to investigate and decide the academy couldn’t use the Bible as an instructional text.

The charter school, the third-largest in Idaho with about 550 students, is fighting that decision in federal court.

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A version of this article appeared in the December 02, 2009 edition of Education Week as Idaho Charter School Warned on Use of Bible in Classroom

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