FL School Committee Unanimously Votes to Keep Bible in Libraries
A Florida school committee has voted to keep the Holy Bible on the shelves of the district's libraries after a local atheist activist complained the book was "too sensitive or controversial" for a typical classroom due to sexual and violent content.
The Superintendent's Review Committee of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) voted unanimously to keep the Bible in school libraries, according to the Sun Sentinel. The outlet reported the district was responding to a state law that allows anyone who lives in the county of the school district to file a challenge.
Protesters against Chaz Stevens' complaint attended the board meeting. Some even held up signs in support of the Bible outside of the meeting at the district's administration center in Fort Lauderdale.
"It is important for world studies. I believe the Bible should be on the shelf. I also think the Torah and Quran should on shelves as well, especially in high schools," retired district librarian and now committee member Elaine Aaron told the Sun Sentinel. "Students need the materials to make their own decisions."
Florida state law allows school districts to offer "a secular program of education including, but not limited to, an objective study of the Bible and of religion."
The committee wasn't asked to consider whether the Bible is appropriate for classroom use, only for library shelves, according to the Sun Sentinel.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Stevens told the outlet the result "was completely expected" after the vote, which he did not attend. He said he plans to appeal the committee's decision to the school board.
Stevens has made similar challenges to religious displays and messaging across the country. In April of 2022 alone, he sent 62 superintendents in Florida a request to ban the Bible, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
He told Fox News Digital that he is a First Amendment advocate, but he challenged the Bible to highlight what he called the hypocrisy of conservative activists, like Moms for Liberty.
Founded in Florida, the parental rights organization has a chapter in 300 counties across the nation, and its numbers are growing. As CBN News reported in September, Moms for Liberty said it had gained 120,000 members in two years. Its chapters often challenge sexually explicit books found in school libraries.
"The Bible does not violate state law. It's not graphic at all. It's actually very tame compared to a lot of the books that are in Broward County schools right now," Corie Pinero, Broward County chapter leader told the review committee at the meeting.
According to the Sun Sentinel, it is unclear how many copies of the Bible are in district schools since there are so many different versions of the book under different names.
The BCPS is the nation's sixth-largest school district and Florida's second-largest school district, according to The Gazette. The district has 239 schools, centers, technical colleges, and 87 charter schools.
The state of Florida has required all of its school districts to create committees to allow parents to challenge books they believe to be inappropriate, the outlet reported.
The Bible has been challenged in some other school districts in Florida, but the districts voted to keep the book in their libraries.
