The Senate Education Committee advanced the so-called “Charlie Kirk Heritage Act” on Wednesday, designed to provide students with information on the positive impact of religion in American history.¶
The bill is sponsored by Senator Paul Rose, R-Covington, and it specifies that public schools teach about the impact of religion in 19 historical subjects, including the religious views of the singers of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s appeal for prayer at the constitutional convention, the historic role of the Black Robe Regiment, the history of the pilgrims as a church, and how religion shaped civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.¶
The committee passed the bill on a partisan 8-1 vote, after hearing testimony from a junior at Providence Academy in Johnson City and Lakie Derrick, who started the Turning Point USA chapter at East Tennessee State University and represented Club America at the meeting.¶
“Today, your vote yes to (Senate Bill 1828) solidifies that you all are committed to continuing to (uphold) our constitutional principles,” Derrick said. “The ability to teach about America's foundations through a positive lens of religious impact is going to not only help our students better understand our foundational documents and our founding fathers, but it's going to help the legacy of Charlie Kirk continue to live on.”¶
During discussion of the bill, Rose emphasized his belief in the historical context of the First Amendment, urging that it was created so that “the state would stay out of the church.”¶
“What the bill does (is) it authorizes local education agencies, public charter schools, public school teachers, and faculty at public institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the positive influence of our Judeo-Christian heritage when teaching American history,” Rose said.¶
Opponents Make Case for Separation of Church and State¶
Senator Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, was the lone dissenting vote when the committee advanced the bill, stating that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson advocated a complete separation of church and state to ensure freedom of religion. She also expressed concern that the bill could influence rather than inform and emphasized the importance of neutrality in public schools.¶
“I don't think we want to put teachers, especially on higher education campuses, in any sort of situation where they can or cannot teach something, and I do think that freedom already exists on those campuses for them to be able to teach these types of courses,” Raumesh said. “I just think that our public schools are really not the place to push one religion over the other, and I know that that is not the stated intent of the bill, but I think that ends up being the result.”¶
The bill heads to the Senate floor next. The House version of the legislation faces a vote in the House Education Committee next week.¶
