Tennessee Bill Will Let Kids Skip an Hour of School Each Day to Go to Church [View all]

The Tennessee legislature passed a bill yesterday, House Bill 2542/Senate Bill 2473, that would force public schools to allow kids to miss class for up to one hour each day in order to attend church. (They would also allow school buses to transport those kids, as long as the churches paid for it.)

Previously, schools boards were allowed to adopt such policies, but this law would mandate it, meaning the districts could not punish any kids who participated. Just last December, the Knox County School Board rejected the policy after giving it a trial run. Even then, they only let kids skip one hour of school per month. It was still a disaster.

If the governor signs this bill into law, it would go into effect beginning this fall. And it will very likely become law since the State Senate passed it 31-0 on Friday, and the State House passed it 94-0 yesterday. No one wants in power wants to oppose this.

But here’s why it’s a bad idea, anyway: If kids can miss an hour of school every day, there’s a chance they’re missing the same classes on those days. For all we know, these kids won’t learn the scientific method, but they’ll be taught that Noah’s Ark is real. It’s even more bizarre given that kids can always go to Sunday School or read the Bible on their own. There’s no reason to allow them to skip school in order to learn less.

Read more: https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/06/09/tn-bill-will-let-kids-skip-an-hour-of-school-each-day-to-go-to-church/