This is America, 2016:

SENATOR PUSHES BILL FOR BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

Idaho school teachers can already use the Bible as a reference, but Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll wants a state law to underscore the point.

The Cottonwood Republican is pushing a bill to that effect, and the Senate Education Committee gave the idea its preliminary approval.

“A lot of teachers are scared to use the Bible,” Nuxoll said.

The one-paragraph bill says the Bible would be expressly permitted for use as a reference for “literature, comparative religion, English and foreign languages, United States and world history, comparative government, law, philosophy, ethics, astronomy, biology, geology, world geography, archaeology, music, sociology and other topics of study.”

No student would be required to study the Bible, if the student or parent objected.

Nuxoll said her bill is modeled after legislation in 10 other states.

The committee voted to introduce the bill, but not without resistance.

Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, questioned the need for the law, since teachers can already use the Bible anyway.

“Once we start spelling out religious texts,” she said, “we open up the door to spelling out many, many more.”

“That, I guess, could be a possibility,” Nuxoll said. However, she drew a distinction between the Bible and other religious texts, saying the Bible is “embedded” in American culture.

Senate Education voted to print the bill, with Ward-Engelking voting no. With that introduction, the bill could come back to the committee for a full hearing.

[…]