BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A bill that would allow public high schools in Louisiana to offer an elective classroom course in Bible history and literature was signed by the governor on Monday.
Act 215, authored by State. Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, states that students won’t be required to use a particular translation of the Bible and that the class should stay neutral and not show any favor or disfavor to any particular religion or nonreligious beliefs.
“This bill confirms our students have the opportunity to study the most published book in history when it has been unclear they had that option in the past,” said Hodges. “The course is meant to be an elective, allowing students the choice to learn about the history and literature of the Bible, and it is my hope that students take this opportunity to grow their knowledge on a subject that may be at least somewhat foreign to them.”
The bill will go into effect on Aug. 1.
