Idaho School District Endorses Bible Study Program
The Melba, Idaho, School District staff have sponsored the religious program Bible2School. Bible2School is a release-time religious instruction (RTRI) program that removes students from school during the school day and takes them to an off-site location for religious instruction. Idaho state law does not permit public school staff to participate in the release-time program. The laws are in place to keep public schools neutral regarding religious programs.
Registration for release time programs must occur off school premises, and must be done on forms and supplies furnished by the group or institution offering the program. Teachers of release time programs are not to be considered members of any public school faculty and should not be asked to participate as faculty members in any school functions or to assume responsibilities for operation of any part of the public school program.
IDAPA 08.02.02-220-09 (page 38)
The Melba School District Policy 2350 states:
Staff members are representatives of the District and must “navigate the narrow channel between impairing intellectual inquiry and propagating a religious creed.” They may not encourage, discourage, persuade, dissuade, sponsor, participate in, or discriminate against a religious activity or an activity because of its religious content. They must remain officially neutral toward religious expression.
The physical education teacher at Melba Elementary School, Brock Jessup, organized the effort to introduce the RTRI program at his school. This action violates both school policy and Idaho state law. Jessup managed the sign-up process through school communications, sending and receiving sign-up forms on school property. The emails below demonstrate how this process was handled at the school.
School faculty are running the program and signing up students on school property, which is against state law and school policy.
Jessup Uses Students to Increase Religious Enrollment
On a Bible2School podcast, Jessup mentioned that students were used for distributing items to their classmates at school. This is the most common form of recruitment for RTRI programs. Jessup’s comments:
teachers were very supportive of the program at the school that I’m at. And just this week, again, it was our last week, so we sent them home with all the really cool trinkets. And just the week prior, we did the Jonah and the Whale story.
So there was a buzz going on. And this week we sent them home with their Bibles and with their salvation bracelets. And teachers just come up to me and say, man, the kids were just, they couldn’t wait to share all their little goodies that they got.
And other kids are seeing it and thinking to themselves that they would like to do it too.
The Melba School District Policy prohibits this behavior with policy 3250.
Students should not be exploited for the benefit of any individual, group, or profit-making organization.
The school district faculty has facilitated enrollment in a religious program. They have conducted this using school resources. They have enabled young children to be the marketing engine for a religious organization. Public schools are not mission fields and should not be open to churches during compulsory attendance time.
If you see violations like these, please report them to the Freedom from Religion Foundation.