Alabama Senate committee hears support, opposition for religious instruction bill

The Alabama Senate Education Policy committee heard from critics and supporters of religious instruction in public schools on Wednesday.

SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, mirrors HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, which was rejected by the House Education Committee on April 2. The legislation requires local school boards to adopt a policy regarding released time religious instruction (RTRI). Alabama law already allows school boards to adopt a policy, but this legislation would mandate it. 

“I just want to stress again that this is completely optional for students and requires parental consent,” Shelnutt said. “They keep saying it takes away local control. This bill does not take away control of the local board. They have the right to make a policy and they can decide if they want to not do anything.”

Ben Baker, superintendent of Dale County Schools, criticized the legislation, saying it does take away local control from school boards.

“School systems do not need more mandates. Current law leaves the decision to local school boards who are best positioned to determine whether release time instruction aligns with the needs of their community,” he said. 

He said the lack of a definition for “religious instruction” causes many issues and is a threat to his Christian values.

“When it says religious, am I now going to have to release students to go and sacrifice goats and worship goats or maybe some type of satanic thing? I can’t live with that,” he said. “Public schools are not run by out of touch bureaucrats. They’re run by locally elected and appointed community members.”

Jennifer Riggs, a mother from Huntsville, shared her experience with LifeWise Ministry, a nonprofit that does RTRI. 

“As I read about Lifewise I quickly became intrigued and convinced that this program could be the answer to meeting that long felt desire for my children, and others like mine, to have the Bible taught during their school day,” Riggs said.

Riggs said she became part of a steering committee for the ministry that, according to the sample curriculum, teaches the Christian belief that “God created all things good” to a list of virtues that the nonprofit describes as “LifeWise qualities.” She said her local school board denied her request to have RTRI.

“We then tried to present before our superintendent and we were told no he said there were too many mandates and requirements that we could not be accommodated,” she said.

Marty Griffin, a staff member at the First Baptist Church in Gulf Shores, said the Gulf Shores Superintendents Matt Akin denied the church’s request for a RTRI program. 

“We believe their decision was driven by fear. Fear of if we approve this, what if this unusual situation happens,” Griffin said. “We believe that a bill like SB 278 would alleviate that pressure from them to make that decision.”

Akin said in an email Tuesday that the school denied the request because the school would not be able to provide transportation, aides or nurses, which he said is required by law. He also said the board was concerned about opening the door for religious classes that would not be well-perceived by the public.

“The school board also had concerns—not fears—that allowing a Bible class could require us to permit other religious groups to offer instruction, including those that may not be well received by the public,” he said. “Once the door is open for one religious group it would be open for any group.”

Ryan Hollingsworth, the executive director of Alabama State Superintendents Association, said RTRI will take more time away from teachers. He said it should be the parent’s responsibility to teach their children about religion on their own time.

“The State Board of Education put a lot of things in place that we have to teach during the school day. All we have in the school year is 1,080 hours,” he said. “I think if you’re a parent and that’s a priority then you make sure in those hours that you have, those 7,680 hours that you have them, that you make that work.”

The committee did not vote on the bill, but the chair of the committee, Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, said the committee will take up the legislation again soon. 

This story was updated on April 15 at 12:23 p.m. to include a comment from Gulf Shores Superintended Matt Akin.