From
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090827/NEWS02/908270363.
Spencer school officials will throw out a Bible class and discard a critique of evolutionary theory to avoid being sued over the district's proposed "religious liberties" policy.
The elective classes and other parts of the plan drew fire last month from civil rights activists who said they promoted Christian beliefs.
School board members have gone back to the drawing board.
A second crack at the policy will be scrutinized by attorneys, teachers and other groups before it's made public in September, Superintendent Greg Ebeling said.
"I think the wisdom is to slow down and make sure we cover our bases," he said. "In the end, it'll probably be a much more palatable policy."
Spencer is believed to be the first Iowa district to spell out religious freedoms in schools, a move that has caught on in Georgia, Texas and other states.
The right to pray or learn about religion in public schools is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Most public educators have trampled those rights out of fear they'll be sued for violating the separation of church and state doctrine, Spencer school officials say.
Spencer's policy was an attempt to clear up confusion, Ebeling said.
Instead, it drew complaints from interfaith and nonreligious advocates, a university professor and an attorney from Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C., among others.
Although the policy "wasn't said clearly or explicitly, it was pretty clear it came from a fairly conservative Christian angle," said
Bob Ready, president of the Iowa Secularists, a group that does not identify with a religion. "That's clearly going to come up for legal challenge."
Ebeling said court battles aren't worth the fight.
"Certainly we do not want to create a legal challenge that the district loses or has to spend a lot of money on and win," he said.
Ready and other critics will review the next draft of Spencer's religious liberties policy.
Roger Gaul, a Spencer grandfather who raised his children in the district, believes a compromise is possible.
Gaul, a Christian, said "God" too often is treated as a bad word.
Still, he doesn't believe religion belongs in lesson plans.
"A person's religion is his own beliefs and his own business," Gaul said. "If someone wants it taught, they need to go to a parochial school."
Iowa Secularists
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