At a meeting of the Camp Verde Unified School District Governing Board on Dec. 11, 2018, Tony Isola, a former educator, stood up during the section reserved for public comment and made a request of the school district.
“I’m here to encourage the high school to teach the Bible for credit, because the Bible has been the center of American education for history, geography, language, literature and grammar, all the way back to 1620 when the pilgrims first landed,” Isola said.
He made reference to House Bill 2563, passed in 2012 and signed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer, which gives school districts legal permission to teach the Bible under certain circumstances, if they so choose. Though the bill passed nearly seven years ago, few Arizona school districts have taken up the opportunity to add bible classes.
Isola has made similar requests of other school districts in the Verde Valley over the past few months, including at board meetings for Mingus Union High School District and Sedona-Oak Creek School District.
Isola presented the board with a list of 13 reasons why he thought a Bible course would be a good idea, including drawing on the long cultural significance of the Bible both in American history and worldwide, and its promotion of moral values and other positive attributes like music.
At a Governing Board meeting on Feb. 12, the CVUSD board indicated that Isola may be getting his wish. The board unanimously voted to instruct Administrator-In- Charge Danny Howe to prepare a plan for how Camp Verde High School could teach the Bible.
“I don’t have problem with investigating doing it but I’d like to see a teaching plan,” board member Helen Freeman said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Howe said that according to CVHS Principal Mark Showers, there were potentially four teachers capable of teaching the course.
According to HB 2563, Bible instruction must be limited to a course titled “The Bible and its Influence On Western Culture,” focusing on the history and literature of the Old and New testaments and their impact on culture. The course must follow all applicable law to maintain religious neutrality and accommodate “the diverse religious views, traditions and perspectives of pupils” and requires certification and training for teachers.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 282-7795 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
