By Jordan Hatfield, The Register-Herald
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Efforts to put the Bible back into public schools as a course of study and to allow homeschoolers to play public school sports have defined education policy efforts in this year’s 60-day legislative session – which came to a close Saturday night.
Dubbed the “Bible Bill,” lawmakers passed a law allowing local county boards of education to offer an elective course of instruction of the Bible. Despite one senator’s efforts to broaden the bill and the course offering, including the study of any sacred text or comparative religion, lawmakers voted to pass it in its original form.
While originally starting as two different bills, one proposed by the House of Delegates and one by the Senate, both versions passed out of the respective chambers. The Senate voted overwhelmingly, at first, to include other religions and texts into the law. But once the House’s version came through, senators voted against the amendment.
The “Bible Bill” was a result of an advocacy group called the West Virginia Legislative Prayer Caucus, part of a national group called the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation. Del. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha, who was appointed to the Legislature by Gov. Jim Justice in October 2019, was the lead sponsor of the “Bible Bill,” and serves as the senior pastor at Maranatha Baptist Church in Kanawha County. …
