High school students in the Houston area school district have
petitioned the board to offer Bible classes to fulfill a state law that
was passed in 2007.
According to the Houston Chronicle, two years ago state lawmakers
made it OK for schools to provide elective Bible classes but so far few
school districts implemented the plan. Now some students have lost
patience.
The 2007 law requires schools, beginning this year, to include some
Bible literacy in history and literature classes. Bible classes are
optional but encouraged under the law. The thinking is that educated
students must be familiar with biblical references and themes that
pervade culture and society.
“It’s not like a Bible study like you have at church,” said Gale
Drummond, assistant superintendent of secondary education for Conroe
ISD. “It’s about looking at the Bible and its influence in Western
civilization.”
Some school districts in other areas of Texas already have begun to
offer the classes. Now students in the Montgomery County districts want
the same. A renewed interest in Bible classes seems to have struck the
nation in the past few years.
Many states have introduced Bible bills, and some states, such as
Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, have passed laws mandating Bible classes
or the inclusion of Bible literacy in core classes.
