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History courses are standard curriculum in most schools...but not necessarily Bible History Courses...
Thanks to a special grant program students in Hamilton County can elect to study Bible History in public schools.
For almost 90 years students in Hamilton County Schools have carried Bibles to class and actively discussed Bible History.
Its thanks to an organization called Bible in the Schools...and its all legal.
Walk into Bryan Osborne's History class at Hixson High School and it may take a moment to notice what is unusual...Instead of text books, the students are using Bibles.
Sophomore Ebony Jones says, "It's not really based on religion. It's history, Bible history you're learning the history, it's just like another history class."
There are 19 Bible History classrooms in Hamilton County Schools.
Last year almost 4800 students took the classes, and it was all paid for with private money.
Bible in the Schools pays for teacher salaries, benefits, classroom materials, and even the school's portion of social security taxes.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales says, "No one is forced to take the course. And the students who take the course, they take it because that's what they want to do, and they enjoy the class."
Dr. Scales says the Bible History curriculum works well with the district's character education program, and it has a positive impact.
Bible in the Schools president Doug Stromberg agrees, "Knowing the Koran, for example, is not vitally important to living in Western Civilization. Knowing the Bible is, because of how it has affected. It permeates our language, it permeates our code of ethics, our morals, the values that we have as a country."
The course is carefully constructed so it doesn't support or tear down any religion, and it is an elective course that students and their parents chose.
Mr. Osborne says, "I've got students of every faith, every religion, or no religion in my class and since its not religion, since it is history, they all feel comfortable to simply study the Bible as history and see what it says."
Dr. Scales says that's why it works in the classroom, "We live in a society where all religions are embraced. So if we're gonna have prayer in schools, religion in schools in terms of mandate, what religion are we going to mandate, what prayer are we gonna mandate?"
This is an interesting note....It is perfectly legal to use state money to fund Bible classes in a public school as long as those classes don't promote or degrade any religion.
Stromberg says Bible in the Schools funds Bible classes in Hamilton County so those classes will never be removed from the schools due to or affected by budget cuts.
Bible in the Schools provides roughly $1,000,000 a year to Hamilton County Schools to cover Bible History courses.
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