Tennessee education chief: Bible courses must be academic, not religious

By The Associated Press

12.18.00

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The state wants to make sure Bible courses taught in public schools don't violate the Constitution, so Education Commissioner Vernon Coffey sent districts a letter last week demanding that classes be academic in nature, not religious.

The letter outlined stringent new guidelines for proposed courses and indicated that officials would re-examine established courses, some of which teach the Bible as fact.

In the letter, Coffey explained the department's decision this year to reject a Bible course proposed by the Shelby County system, which was similar to a class in Hamilton County that teaches the Bible as historical truth.

The rules also apply to eight other public school districts that have temporary approval to teach Bible-related courses, but apparently do not affect six other districts that have permanent approval for Bible classes.

However, Coffey sent copies of the new guidelines to those districts, along with a memo urging them to use the material to review whether their courses are objective and academic.

The rules are based on The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide.

Published in 1999 by the First Amendment Center and National Bible Association, the guide is a resource for public school districts trying to walk the fine constitutional line when forming faith-based clubs, distributing religious literature or using the Bible in class.

The guide allows for a variety of course themes with the Bible as an element: history, literature, comparative religion. But it urges that the courses be academic in nature, and that teachers use a variety of Biblical translations as well as non-religious, critical texts.

Bible was eliminated as a course in Tennessee in 1987 because enrollment declined.

After that, districts wishing to offer a special course in Bible had to go through three years of review to win permanent approval.

Hamilton County was the first district to receive permanent approval in 1991, with Sevier County being the most recent in 1998.

Once a course gets permanent approval, authority to change it rests with the state Board of Education, although education department officials could recommend a change.

The executive director of the state Board of Education, Douglas E. Wood, said Dec. 15 he would look at Shelby County's rejected Bible course application as well as the curriculums at the six school districts with established Bible courses.

"We have to make sure everybody is consistent with what the law says and work with communities in the development of these programs," he said. "We need to encourage as much dialogue as possible."

That includes Hamilton County, where the classes are privately funded.

"We teach it just as you would teach a history book," said Harriet Bond, a former Bible teacher who now coordinates the classes as a member of the private funding board.

"We just take a Bible in hand and let them teach it. We don't have any other textbooks," she said.

Bond said the district teaches the Biblical account of creation as a story, but "there's enough archaeological evidence that Abraham existed and the rest. We teach as if it's historical fact from Abraham on."

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