COUNTYWIDE : County Issue: Bible Clubs in Public Schools

A Bible club at E.O. Green Middle School in Port Hueneme was canceled after several teachers complained to the California Teachers Assn. and the American Civil Liberties Union that the club violated the First Amendment guarantee of separation of church and state. Should Bible clubs be allowed or prohibited at public schools?

Darlene A. Bruno, School board member-elect, Port Hueneme School District

Any group that abides by the guidelines set by the Board of Education should be allowed. I think the situation at E.O. Green Middle School has been blown all out of proportion. One student asked the teacher if he could meet. He wanted a rap session to talk, not even a Bible study, after the teacher’s working hours. They weren’t even getting the Bible out. I think it was just someone who was going to base moral and ethical questions on the Bible. I think that situation meets the guidelines set in motion by the district. The club has a right to meet at the school, in my opinion. I think it is a shame this has been blown all out of proportion. Here you have a child coming to adults, wanting to talk about problems and peer pressure, and it’s not allowed. We need to put forth the effort when children come to us to talk and for answers. We need to give them all the resources we have. That’s our goal, to get the children to come to us with their problems and to be open with us.

Steve V. Young, Student and organizer of the Bible Club at E.O. Green Middle School

I do feel that they should be allowed. I think the separation of church and state has been taken out of context. It’s not as if we’re pushing religion on anyone, and we’re not requiring that anyone come. The club was entirely voluntary. As for teachers complaining about the teacher who sponsored the club, he volunteered on his own time. Some students showed quite a bit of positive interest in the club. I don’t want to sound negative or derogatory, but I think that a lot of the teachers felt threatened and were against it because it was something new and it was something that hadn’t been experienced before in a junior high school. I was nearly devastated when the club was canceled. It was something I was really looking forward to. It had a lot of potential. I feel that if there is a teacher willing to handle any kind of group, science club or an atheist group, even though I’m a Christian, I would feel that that was their interest and wouldn’t try to close them or stop them from meeting.

Carol Sobel, Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union

The Supreme Court has said that under certain conditions, Bible clubs will be permitted in high schools. Congress passed a law which says if a public high school gets federal funding and has an open forum--clubs not officially related to the curriculum--then if it has a request to have a student Bible club, the school must permit it to meet there. If a school only permits curriculum-related clubs, it has no obligation to permit a Bible club. The Green school is not a high school. The teacher at Green Middle School was supervising the Bible club during hours he was paid to be on campus. These are younger students with a teacher who appeared to be sponsoring the club on school time. If students want to have a Bible club they are free to meet at somebody’s house. What they’re not free to do is to create the impression that the school is somehow affiliated with the club and that this is government supported or endorsed.

Dr. Vernon G. Houser, Assistant superintendent, Port Hueneme School District

I agree with the Supreme Court ruling that public schools should be available to be rented by religious organizations. I also understand the right of equal access, that is, if you did rent to one particular religious organization you would need to rent to another. I don’t think it’s really agreed upon, even among legal people, whether or not having these clubs is legal. I believe some would feel it is. Others would say, “I don’t think at this point that this decision reaches that far.” In our particular case, one of the reasons we felt the club should be allowed to continue is that the school board had not yet developed a policy and should develop a policy. Secondly, it certainly opened the question as to whether or not this ruling relates to a junior high or middle school, since it specifically dealt with a high school. I am convinced at this point that if you do allow these clubs, it should not be an employee who runs it. You leave yourself opened to be second-guessed if you use an employee.

Cheryl R. Hamilton, School board member-elect, Port Hueneme School District

Basically I don’t feel that Bible clubs should be allowed during school hours, but I feel our public schools are public property and I think it’s nice that we can utilize them in several ways to benefit the community. I’m a Girl Scout leader and we have meetings at the schools. Other groups meet there. They are public property. If they’re not being used and if there is a need for a facility and the group is willing to comply with the rules, then it is public space and if we can utilize it that’s great. It is my personal opinion as a parent that anything the community can offer that people are interested in (should be offered) and if they need a school site, outside of school hours, and the room is not being used for school matters, then it should certainly be allowed.