On Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Student Religious Freedoms Act into law, expanding religious freedom in the state’s public schools. The bill’s signing came after the state Senate passed the bill unanimously last week.
Also called House Bill 164the law allows Ohio school students to pray, wear religious attire, meet in religious groups on campus and express their religious views as long as doing so is not perceived as disruptive. Students will no longer be penalized for expressing religious freedom in responses to homework, crafts, and other assignments.
The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Tim Ginter, a Republican, in March 2019 and passed nearly unanimously in the House in November.
“I am grateful that this important speech bill, protected by our First Amendment, has become law in Ohio,” Ginter said in a speech statement. “This will provide public school students with the rights to engage in religious expressions in the same way that students can engage in secular activities.”
Previous state law prohibited a school district from promoting a particular religion but protected a student’s right to express religious beliefs. The main change in the Ginter Act is that students will now be able to practice their religious beliefs in the classroom.
“Under House Bill 164, a student who is Christian or Jewish would not be able to say that my religious texts teach me that the world is 6,000 years old, so I do not have to answer that question,” Ginter said. “They still exist, they will be tested in class and they cannot ignore the class material.”
The legislation held four committee hearings and gained support from more than 60 sponsors in both legislative chambers.
While the bill has broad support from lawmakers, it has its critics, including Democratic Rep. Catherine Ingram, who believes it would limit control of schools.
“This is not hyperbole; it is an attack on science, truth and reason,” she said in December 2019 column for Columbus Shipping. “This bill is at best constitutionally unnecessary and at worst dangerous to the very fabric of a democratic society and its reliance on objective facts to tell the truth.”
Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the ACLU of Ohio, called the bill “a real mixed bag” in June 9 opposing testimony.
Daniels also quoted in: A comment in December 2019 that while the ACLU supports “protecting the religious liberties” of public school students, it believes the bill is unnecessary and uses vague language that could expose schools to lawsuits.
Many people felt that it took a long time to make this decision. The students even went this far testify at committee hearings for the bill because they believed that they were treated differently due to their membership in religious clubs.
“Students do not give up their constitutional rights outside the school gates,” said Matt Sharp, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
Aaron Baer, president of Citizens for Community Values, was also quite joyful with Friday’s result.
“The Student Religious Freedom Act was carefully crafted to ensure that school administrators cannot unfairly punish students of all faiths or no faith. Standing for religious freedom should not be controversial,” he said.
