Expert: Ed Buckner - 4/11/2008

Question
What are the likely legal ramifications of the new Old Testament and New Testament Bible Courses being offered in GA?  How are those ramifications likely to impact public education?
What previous cases would be controlling precedent in deciding any cases that might arise in GA?

Answer
Dear T,

The likely legal ramifications depend heavily on the almost-impossible-to-do-right execution of the law. It is almost unquestionably valid constitutionally to include education *about* religion and the Bible--or any other allegedly sacred text--in public education, while it is equally certain, if not more certain, that it is unconstitutional to *promote* any religion (or irreligion) in the public schools. If school systems attempt to implement this curriculum without great care to meet these conflicting requirements, expensive lawsuits--expensive both in money and in attention and effort deflected from other educational goals--are quite likely.

Determining what previous cases would provide precedent requires careful legal research, not a casual answer. And I'm not an attorney. One could start with going to
http://www.findlaw.com/ or with an inquiry with ACLU or Amercians United for Separation of Church and State.

Good luck.

Regards,

Ed B.