This week marks the 10 year anniversary of charter schools in Idaho.
While many are celebrating the great successes accomplished in some of the 36 charter schools, others in Idaho are a little dismayed by the actions of the Nampa Classical Academy. The academy is suing the state.
New modular units combine together to create one of Idaho's newest public charter schools. The Nampa Classical Academy opened its doors this fall, and not without controversy. The academy is suing the state for the right to use the Bible and other religious books as primary texts. The Idaho constitution forbids it.
The lead attorney for the academy, Dave Cortman, thinks this law is ludicrous.
"The Bible is the single most influential book ever written. For the state to rule that it is somehow unconstitutional is simply mind boggling."
The academy is being represented by a Christian legal group based in Scottsdale, Arizona. They're handling the case pro bono. The attorney for the academy will do interviews, but when we contacted the state, Superintendent Tom Luna said, "We are in litigation so we're not allowed to comment."
The state superintendent can't comment, the governor, the State Board of Education, the Public Schools Commission and the Attorney General, all declining interviews.
But Idaho State University Professor Dave Adler, a constitutional scholar, says the charter school doesn't have a chance of winning in the state courts.
"Article nine , section six: that clause of the constitution prohibits the use of any sectarian document or book tract or any pamphlet that has a sectarian nature. Clearly the Bible has a sectarian nature."
Slam dunk, right? Well, the lawyers for the academy are taking the issue to Federal court, where the legal water is a little more murky.
Attorney Cortman says, "The federal constitution trumps the state constitution. In our lawsuit we've alleged it violates several constitutional rights of the school teachers and students. And imagine the breadth of the censorship.... Here we have dozens and maybe hundreds of books being censored by the state. And that should concern the citizens of Idaho greatly."
Professor Adler disagrees. "They have to be able to demonstrate that their use of the Bible in school is merely secular in purpose. That's a hurdle they'll have to overcome."
That is what the academy has to prove. The Bible, or the Book of Mormon, or the Koran would be used for historical reference, not religious. The lawyers say they want their students to have the right to go to the horse's mouth, the primary text, when studying history.
"If you look at the history, not only of our country, but the history of western civilization," says attorney Cortman, "Shakespeare cites the Bible 1,300 times. Do we ban Shakespeare?... So the breadth of censorship being promoted by the state, in this case is simply incredible."
"It's not censorship," says Adler, "moreover because there is no first amendment right on the part of teachers to use these materials without approval from the State Department of Education."
"I can tell you one thing," says Cortman. "The case will not sit idle."
Adler adds, "This case has the potential to go to the U.S. Supreme Court."
It boils down to this: Teaching 'about' religion and 'teaching' religion are two different things. When it comes to the Bible in the public classroom, you have to 'teach' it, not 'preach' it. Who will oversee whether the Bible is being used properly?
