The brief shutdown of a Virginia school district earlier this month after parent outrage over a class assignment using an Islamic text highlighted a question that has surfaced more than once this year in Georgia: Where do you draw the line between religion and public school teaching?
It's a question not likely to fade, amid heightened suspicion among many of the Islamic faith, and as groups wary of any religious indoctrination in classrooms file complaints about activities they say cross that line.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has paid attention to the issue. It arose in Georgia, for example, when parent complaints about a classroom lesson about Islam prompted a change by the state Department of Education, and when a group baptism was held on a Carroll County Public School football field, drawing complaints from a different quarter.
The AJC will continue to pay attention, in our news reports and the “Get Schooled” blog. Follow these links to find some of our previous coverage, on our website accessible to all subscribers, myajc.com:
Class work about Islam stirs some Georgia parents concern:
Should schools teach students about Islam? (a "Get Schooled" blog by Maureen Downey)
Football baptisms at school violated procedure, Carroll district says
