Purpose of Legislation:

The purpose of the Religious Bill of Rights for Individuals Connected with Public Schools Act is to raise awareness, among those who interface with the public school system, of the religious liberties bestowed by the Creator and guaranteed to students, faculty and staff, in accordance with the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.


Why is this necessary?

1. Increasing intolerance of religious beliefs
Over the past several decades there has been a growing perception among the citizens, and especially parents of school-age children that the public school system in Colorado and throughout the U.S. has become increasingly intolerant to religious freedom when encountering the strong religious beliefs of a segment of its students, parents, faculty, and administration.

2. Teaching of subjects or portions thereof that are contrary to strongly-held religious beliefs
The Public School System has increasingly introduced subjects and materials into the curriculum that are contrary to the strongly-held religious beliefs of a large number of parents and children, many of whom have income levels that prevent them from providing alternative schooling for their children.

3. Misunderstanding of Thomas Jefferson's phrase "Separation of Church and State"
The misconception that the expression of one's religious views is not appropriate in the public school setting has become the predominant view among the educational establishment. This stems from both an inaccurate interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's phrase, "Separation of Church and State," as well as the threat of lawsuits against schools by organizations like the ACLU, Americans for Separation of Church and State and others.

This oft-quoted phrase does not appear in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, or in any other of our country's foundational documents. It was merely included in a private letter by Thos. Jefferson, to give assurance to the Banbury Baptist Church that their religious liberties would not be infringed.


4. Failure of Higher Education to address religious rights issues in teacher certification programs
Higher Education's teacher certification programs fail to address matters concerning the intersection of Religious Liberties with public school policies, which leaves teachers and administrators ill-prepared to deal with this issue. As a result, K-12 school officials and faculty often create and administer school policies that are adversarial to the religious freedoms of their faculty, staff and students.


What this Bill Does:

1. Codifies a Religious Bill of Rights for individuals connected with public K-12 schools. (These rights are based on the outcome of past judicial rulings.)

2. Requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to adopt a religious bill of rights for public school students and parents and a religious bill of rights for publc school teachers and employees.

3. Directs the SBOE to distribute the Religious Bill of Rights to all local school boards across the state.

4. Directs the state board to distribute the religious bill of rights to school district boards of education ("local boards")and to create a standard grievance form for use to report grievances. This form shall be available on the state board's official website along with the Religious Bills of Rights.

5. Requires each local board to adopt policies and procedures to implement the Act, including annual distribution of the religious bills of rights to all students, parents, teachers and employees of the school district.

6. Directs local school boards of eduction to provide opt-out provisions for classes or course materials that are in conflict with the individual's religious beliefs.

7. The original bill would have created personal liability for individual board members if the local school board fails to enact policies in line with the provisions of the Religious Bill of Rights Act. An amendment will be offered at the hearing to remove the personal liability portion of the bill and instead require adherence as a condition for accreditation

View Bill

Resources

Common Objections and Answers to SB07-138

Articles:

2/15/2007
Religious rights bill dies in committee

1/27/2007
Students could opt out of classes if beliefs conflict

Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
The U.S. Department of Education identifies the current state of the law concerning constitutionally protected prayer in public schools.