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School District Says it Erred in Allowing Church Permission Slips
After complaints raised by a Muslim group, the school district in Roseville said today it made a mistake when permission slips were distributed to elementary school students that would allow them to attend Bible classes in a Baptist church.
“It appears we made a mistake,” said Michael LaFeve, assistant superintendent for Roseville Community Schools. “We shouldn’t have made the slips available.”
Two weeks ago, students at Huron Park Elementary School in Roseville received permission slips to participate in Bible classes at Temple Baptist Church in Roseville. The classes were to be conducted by RBM Ministries, which is based in Kalamazoo and works with school districts across the state.
The parents of a Muslim student expressed concerns about the permission slip, said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Walid then wrote a letter today to the school’s principal and the superintendent of Roseville Community Schools, saying that the district was favoring one religion and denomination with the permission slips for Temple Baptist Church.
“School staff and teachers are not to serve as advocates for one particular religion or congregation within a religion by passing out slips inviting parents to give permission for their children to attend religious instruction,” Walid said.
Michigan law allows for children to be excused for religious services, often known as Released Time. Walid said the district violated that law by explicitly favoring one church. Walid added that he applauds the district’s admission it made a mistake.
But Bob Goodenough, executive director of RBM Ministries, said, “I don’t believe there’s any violation. … There’s no discrimination.”
Goodenough said Michigan allows kids to receive two hours of religious education, as long as they get permission from parents. He said Bible teachings are needed in order to build moral character among the youth.
LaFeve said the district will now reconsider its policies.
“We’re going to address it in our next principals’ meetings to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Charles Green, the pastor at Temple Baptist Church, said this was the first time they worked with RBM Ministries on having classes for school students. Green said there might have been a problem with teachers handing out permission slips. He added that the classes would not be about proselytizing, but about teaching moral values along with Bible stories.
Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press