Senator Jesse Green. Photo courtesy of Iowa Legislature

One Iowa lawmaker says a bill that made it through the first funnel week, clears up some confusion in the state code for public schools.

Senate File 138 would allow for high schools to offer classes about the Hebrew scriptions of the Old and New Testaments from the Bible. District 24 Senator Jesse Green says the legislation makes it more obvious in code as an option for school districts to cover, even though the ability to do this is already in place. He emphasizes that this was something Iowans wanted.

“Overall, I think that most people would agree that in order for a student to have a really healthy and proper perspective of Western Civilization and the founding of our country, like it’s pretty hard to fully grasp some of that without understanding how the Bible has impacted our country and Western Civilization.”  

Green points out that one part of the bill is that the curriculum can not be biased in theological beliefs, nor can it demean any other religion. He adds that school boards would have the final say on whether or not to allow these kinds of classes to be held. The bill was passed out of the Senate Education Committee and is eligible for a full Senate vote.