Why I homeschool: reason #4,564,249

From Philadelphia Evening Bulletin...

When it came time for "reading time," a part of the school day where children sit and read quietly to themselves for 15 minutes, Rhajheem Haymon did not think twice about reading his Bible. A fellow student, though, caught wind of Haymon's reading material and notified a substitute teacher. The substitute told Haymon that he could not read the Bible in class because he was in a public school.

"The next day Haymon's father went to the school to correct the situation, but this time both the principle and Haymon's regular teacher said he cannot bring the Bible to school," stated Edward White, trial counsel for the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian rights law firm....

"We wrote a letter explaining the federal guidelines, which came out in 2003 as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, that states a student can say grace before meals, engage in quiet prayer and other religious activities, so long as they do not cause a disruption," explained White. In this instance, Haymon was sitting quietly reading his Bible and there was no disruption.

After receiving the law center's letter, the school quickly reversed its decision yesterday and Haymon was allowed to read his Bible during reading time.

The school was Michigan Elementary School District No. 159, located right outside Chicago, Ill.

Can you imagine someone daft enough to think that reading the Bible during free reading time is unconstitutional? Why would they allow someone like that to be a principal or teacher, let alone substitute?

Posted by Danny Carlton at July 26, 2007 6:52 AM