INDIANAPOLIS — Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require public schools to allow students to take outside religious instruction.
Currently, parents can request for their children to take outside religious instruction, but the principal of the school must approve the request.
Shari Markley lives in Centerville, Indiana. She says a petition signed by over 200 people made a request to their school district to give their students the option and their administration denied the request.
"In our community we wanted to offer release time religious instruction,” Markley said. “There was a group of churches, parents and concerned citizens in the community. We asked for that right to cooperate with the schools, and we were turned down.”
That’s why she supports House Bill 1137, which would require principals to comply with a parent’s request.
Under the proposed bill, the classes would be voluntary and only offered if parents ask for it. The instruction would have to take place off campus, with transportation provided. No public funds can be used to provide the classes and instruction can only be offered for a max of two hours a week.
Parents that support the legislation say it's their right to have this option for their kids.
“Really, it comes down to parental rights,” Markley said. “It shouldn't just be a couple of people at a school determining that this shouldn’t happen. It should be in the hands of parents and the rights of the parents and what they wish.”
Education associations say that not all communities are the same which is why they feel this legislation could become problematic.
"We emphasize that we support religious instruction,” Lisa Tanselle, with the Indiana School Boards Association, said during testimony. “Requiring school officials to allow the release of students for up to 120 minutes per week takes away from the academic mission of the school corporation."
The bill did pass out of the Senate Education Committee, but it was amended to include another senate bill that would allow schools to hire chaplains as school counselors.
The bill could face opposition moving forward with that amendment.
It now heads to the full Senate for further consideration but will have to go back to the house since it was amended in the senate.
