The Republican race for governor may have a new dividing line -- this one over school prayer and proselytizing. At least that's what state Sen. Michael Williams of Cumming hopes.
The candidate introduced legislation Monday that would let high school coaches participate in student-led prayers and talk about religion with students.
More than that, Senate Bill 361 would require public schools to provide a "limited public forum" where students can talk about religion – or anything else that's not lewd, vulgar or offensive.
Yup. School systems are going to love this.
Williams' proposal is aimed at the Wisconsin-based and atheist-minded Freedom from Religion Foundation, a provoking organization that dips into church-state issues across the country.
Last fall, the group filed a complaint against East Coweta High School head coach John Small for praying with his players after a football game last fall.
“This is a much-needed protection for Georgia faculty members and students who incorporate their religious beliefs into their daily lives,” Williams said. From his bill:
"While performing their assigned job duties, school employees are required to maintain a position of neutrality toward religion; however, when interacting with other school employees or when the context makes clear that the employee is not speaking on behalf of the school, school employees are entitled to robust protections for their religious expression…."
The issue of coaches and prayers is a touchy one, and scattered lawsuits have sharpened the debate.
One of the highest-profile legal battles in Georgia erupted in 2004 when UGA's cheerleading coach was slapped with a federal lawsuit by a Jewish student who claimed the coach held pre-game prayers and Bible studies in her home. She was fired after allegedly retaliating against the cheerleader.
And a federal appeals court last year ruled against a Washington State football coach who was suspended for praying on the 50-yard line after high school games.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp weighed in on the lawsuit on Facebook in November, writing that coaches “deserve our appreciation and respect - not the condemnation of out-of-state atheists.” He added a pledge to “safeguard our religious rights” as governor.
And you’ll remember that in late 2015, Cagle announced a campaign to "keep faith in sports" – reacting to a high school athlete disqualified from a cross-country meet because of a Bible verse on his sweatband.
But Williams’ bill goes well beyond the football field. More from SB 361:
"Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Homework and classroom assignments shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the local school system. Students may not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work."
Here’s the most ambitious – local principals might say intrusive – part of the bill:
"[A] local school system shall adopt a policy which shall include the establishment of a limited public forum for student speakers at all school events at which a student is to publicly speak.
"The policy regarding the limited public forum shall also require the local school system to:
(A) Provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate against a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject;
(B) Provide a method, based on neutral criteria, for the selection of student speakers at school events and graduation ceremonies;
(C) Ensure that a student speaker does not engage in obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and
(D) State in writing or orally, or both, that a student's speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the local school system.
An element of educational efficiency resides in this bill. For instance, you wouldn’t have to require students to learn about the European wars of religion in the 16th and 17th centuries. They’d be living it.
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On a related note, Cam McWhirter of the Wall Street Journal notes today that our Legislature has Amazon on the brain. "The prospect of the online giant picking Atlanta for its second headquarters is shading issues from religious freedom to an English-only constitutional amendment to mass-transit funding," notes the newspaper.
And yet, supporters of “religious liberty” legislation plug on in the state Capitol. They’ve kicked off their latest campaign with this video – which makes no mention of same-sex marriage:
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Sometimes polls conducted on Twitter fail to perform as expected. We're told this no longer appears on the social media account of state Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, the author of an "English-only" measure:
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Fayette County apparently has some problems within its 911 ranks. We've got a piece of paper that describes a profanity-laced tirade that a supervisor aimed at an operator -- alleged while the operator was handling an emergency call.
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Yesterday brought news on Capitol Hill that yet another Republican committee chairman would be leaving at the end of the current Congress. The retirement of Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, leader of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, could have two significant impacts on Georgia's clout and interests in Washington:
First, we’ve already told you about how the frail health of Thad Cochran, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, will almost certainly lead to the ascent of Alabama Republican Richard Shelby, perhaps Georgia’s biggest Capitol Hill rival in the all-important fight over water.
Now it’s possible that another Alabama Republican, Robert Aderholt, would lead the House spending committee following Frelinghuysen’s retirement. Aderholt is next in line in seniority on the House panel, and made his intention known Monday to run for the chairmanship.
Having two Alabama chairmen in such senior positions over the federal government’s purse strings could have a profound impact as Georgia looks to defend its turf in its long-running water rights battles with Florida and Alabama.
Then there’s the possible ascent of U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger. In addition to Aderholt, only one other Republican, Kay Granger of Texas, has announced plans to run to replace Frelinghuysen as chairman.
But consider Graves a potential dark horse candidate. In terms of seniority, the Georgia delegation's senior-most House Republican still has a half-dozen folks in front of him on the committee, but he's riding high off House passage of a 12-in-one spending package he championed last year.
Graves dodged questions about whether he would seek the position on Monday, saying only that he respected Frelinghuysen's work on Capitol Hill. But no doubt having such a House committee chairmanship would immediately bolster Georgia's political clout on Capitol Hill.
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The Washington-based C-SPAN will be broadcasting live in Atlanta today, interviewing GOP gubernatorial candidate and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Cagle is scheduled to appear on "Washington Journal," the cable network's live call-in show, this morning as the network wraps up its two-day stint in Atlanta as part of its tour of all 50 state capitals.
