Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill on Wednesday that protects the right of parents to have their children excused during the school day for religious or moral instruction. HB 1425 excuses a student for no more than three class periods per week, and participation requires written consent from a parent or legal guardian.  Religious or moral instruction via released time programs was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952, and this Oklahoma law is granted the same protection under the First Amendment.  The requirements in the new Oklahoma statute protect both the school and the student by the following provisions: students participating in the “released time course” are held accountable for missed school work; schools are not allowed to facilitate, fund, or provide resources to religious or moral instruction; student attendance to the released time instruction is documented and can receive elective credit for participating; released time instruction cannot conflict with required school subjects or assessments; and instructors for these released time courses are independent from the school and are not required to be licensed or certified teachers.  Proponents of the bill noted the potential benefits of improving student attendance and moral training. A legislative study showed that 94 percent of students were in Oklahoma classrooms in 2019, but that has dropped to 80 percent following the COVID pandemic. Another study found that states with schools that participate in LifeWise Academy, an offsite Bible-based education program for public school students, had lower discipline rates and improved school-wide attendance.  Greg Chafuen, legal counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, stated that “these programs accommodate parents’ desire for their children to receive religious instruction that public schools cannot provide.” Alliance Defending Freedom commended the Oklahoma legislature for giving parents the ability to direct the religious instruction of their kids. The post Religious Instruction During School Day Is Protected for Oklahoma Students appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Israel Should Tell the World to Get Lost

from Tucker Carlson: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

Accountability. https://t.co/studDLbtEF — Lara Logan (@laralogan) June 6, 2024

from Moonbattery: Good thing capitalism blessed Jeff Bezos with so many $billions. He may need every penny to keep his Marxist propaganda rag afloat: Washington Post publisher and CEO William Lewis had a blunt message for his staff during a tense meeting following the sudden ouster of executive editor Sally Buzbee, according to the paper’s own reporting. Yelps […]

by Emily Mangiaracina, LifeSite News: The popular U.K. media outlet the Telegraph published a Tuesday report admitting that a recent peer-reviewed study shows COVID shots “may have helped fuel a rise in excess deaths” numbering over three million. The medical journal BMJ Public Health conducted a data analysis of 47 countries, largely in Europe and North America, which found high excess death […]

from Stew Peters Network: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

Arizona Senate audit of the 2020 election: 74k+ mail in ballots were turned in that have no record of ever being sent out. Trump won pic.twitter.com/tiw6xfLETc — Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) June 5, 2024

by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mercola: STORY AT-A-GLANCE The tiny misters in your grocery store produce section likely contain antimicrobial sprays that could be leaving your fresh fruit and vegetables covered in chemicals — even if they’re organic Chemstar’s “Sterilox Produce Maxx” product is an antimicrobial fruit and vegetable wash used by more than 50 retail […]

by Megan Redshaw, Childrens Health Defense: Several girls who participated in the HPV vaccine trials, including some in the placebo group, suffered chronic disabling symptoms, raising questions about the toxic effects of the adjuvant, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine. Merck’s Gardasil clinical trials in […]