School Choice & Charters News in Brief

Idaho, Charter School Still at Odds Over Use of Bible as Text

By The Associated Press — December 08, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Idaho attorney general’s office has told officials at a charter school that the state won’t back down from pursuing information about the school’s possible use of the Bible and other religious texts.

Nampa Classical Academy is defying an order from the Idaho Public Charter School Commission to turn over the data. The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based religious-liberty group that is defending the school, threatened in a letter to sue the commission if it continues to seek the information.

The school drew attention last summer when school officials said they planned to use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion. The commission told the academy it couldn’t use the Bible as an instructional text. The charter commissions chairman, Bill Goesling, said the use of religious texts would likely lead to the revocation of the schools charter.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the December 09, 2009 edition of Education Week as Idaho, Charter School Still at Odds Over Use of Bible as Text

Events

College & Workforce Readiness Webinar Data-Driven and District-Ready: What EdWeek Research Tells Us About the CTE Market
Discover how to sharpen your positioning in a fast-moving market of CTE with actionable strategies grounded in EdWeek Research Center data.
Classroom Technology Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Rewiring of Childhood With Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt, Catherine Price, and Adam Swinyard join Peter DeWitt on how to get students off devices and back to the basics of childhood.
Professional Development K-12 Essentials Forum Getting Professional Development to Stick
Join this free virtual event to explore best practices, funding, format, and timing for teacher and principal PD.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Could More States Try to Keep Islamic Schools Out of Their Choice Programs?
A state asserted it could exclude certain schools from its new private school choice program.
10 min read
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 9: Students walk down a hallway outside classrooms at Houston Quran Academy in Houston, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Students walk down a hallway outside classrooms at Houston Quran Academy in Houston on May 9, 2025. Texas initially excluded Islamic schools from its new private school choice program, leading some to wonder if other states might limit the kinds of private schools eligible for state school choice funding.
Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty
School Choice & Charters A Large Democratic-Led State Says Yes to Trump’s School Choice Program
Thirty-one states are on track to participate in the first major federal foray into private school choice.
5 min read
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to daycare children at the Department of Labor on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul on Jan. 3, 2024, said she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy education programs, a potential overhaul that comes as many states revamp curriculums amid low reading scores.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to children on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul became the latest Democratic governor to say she'll opt her state in to the federal tax-credit scholarship program that takes effect next year, and will direct federal taxpayer funds to private school scholarships.
Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP
School Choice & Charters Opinion A New Federal Education Tax Credit Is Creating a Dilemma for Blue States
A new tax credit is forcing Democrats to navigate the tensions of politics and principles.
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion The Forgotten History of the School Choice Movement
Long before vouchers or charter schools, Americans were already clashing over education options.
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week