It's Coming - Be Prepared

(A) Sections 3320.01, 3320.02, and 3320.03 of the Revised Code shall be collectively known as the "Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2019 ."

Sec. 3320.01.
(B) As used in sections 3320.01 to 3320.03 of the Revised Code, "religious expression" includes any of the following:
(1) Prayer;
(2) Religious gatherings, including but not limited to prayer groups, religious clubs, "see you at the pole" gatherings, or other religious gatherings;
(3) Distribution of written materials or literature of a religious nature;
(4) Any other activity of a religious nature, including wearing symbolic clothing or expression of a religious viewpoint, provided that the activity is not obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent.

Sec. 3320.02. (A) A student enrolled in a public school may engage in religious expression before, during, and after school hours in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to engage in secular activities or expression before, during, and after school hours. (B) A school district, community school established under Chapter 3314., STEM school established under Chapter 3326., or a college-preparatory boarding school established under Chapter 3328. of the Revised Code shall give the same access to school facilities to students who wish to conduct a meeting for the purpose of engaging in religious expression as is given to secular student groups, without regard to the content of a student's or group's expression.

Sec. 3320.03. No school district board of education, governing authority of a community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, governing body of a STEM school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code, or board of trustees of a college-preparatory boarding school established under Chapter 3328. of the Revised Code shall prohibit a student from engaging in religious expression in the completion of homework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments. Assignment grades and scores shall be calculated using ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, including any legitimate pedagogical concerns, and shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student's work.

Sec. 3326.11. Each science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school established under this chapter and its governing body shall comply with sections 9.90, 9.91, 109.65, 121.22, 149.43, 2151.357, 2151.421, 2313.19, 2921.42, 2921.43, 3301.0714, 3301.0715, 3301.0729, 3301.948, 3313.14, 3313.15, 3313.16, 3313.18, 3313.201, 3313.26, 3313.472, 3313.48, 3313.481, 3313.482, 3313.50, 3313.536, 3313.539, 3313.5310, 3313.608, 3313.6012, 3313.6013, 3313.6014, 3313.6015, 3313.6020, 3313.6021, 3313.61, 3313.611, 3313.614, 3313.615, 3313.643, 3313.648, 3313.6411, 3313.66, 3313.661, 3313.662, 3313.666, 3313.667, 3313.668, 3313.67, 3313.671, 3313.672, 3313.673, 3313.69, 3313.71, 3313.716, 3313.718, 3313.719, 3313.7112, 3313.721, 3313.80, 3313.801, 3313.814, 3313.816, 3313.817, 3313.86, 3313.89, 3313.96, 3319.073, 3319.21, 3319.32, 3319.321, 3319.35, 3319.39, 3319.391, 3319.41, 3319.45, 3319.46, 3320.01, 3320.02, 3320.03, 3321.01, 3321.041, 3321.05, 3321.13, 3321.14, 3321.141, 3321.17, 3321.18, 3321.19, 3321.191, 3327.10, 4111.17, 4113.52, and 5705.391 and Chapters 102., 117., 1347., 2744., 3307., 3309., 3365., 3742., 4112., 4123., 4141., and 4167. of the Revised Code as if it were a school district.

Sec. 3328.24. A college-preparatory boarding school established under this chapter and its board of trustees shall comply with sections 102.02, 3301.0710, 3301.0711, 3301.0712, 3301.0714, 3301.0729, 3301.948, 3313.536, 3313.6013, 3313.6021, 3313.6411, 3313.7112, 3313.721, 3313.89, 3319.39, 3319.391, and 3319.46, 3320.01, 3320.02, and 3320.03 and Chapter 3365. of the Revised Code as if the school were a school district and the school's board of trustees were a district board of education.

Section 2. That existing sections 3313.601, 3314.03, 3326.11, and 3328.24 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Section 3328.24 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 410 and Sub. S.B. 3 of the 131st General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.

Section 4. Nothing in this act is intended or shall be construed to limit or abrogate religious expression of students already guaranteed under the Ohio Constitution and the United States Constitution.

HarveyH55 wrote:
For the vast majority of students, they are going to regurgitate, exactly what the learned in class, hoping to give the teacher what's expected, the simpler approach to school work. Given an alternative, religious, response will take a lot more work and research, than simply responding 'God', or quoting a few scriptures. Nothing wrong with faith, but it's really hard to explain on paper. Of course, they would need to show a working understanding of the science version, to show it's wrong, and their religious version is correct. A student that goes through all that extra effort certainly deserves a fair grade, even if it's just BS.

olyz wrote:
Scientific version of creation? Where did the Big Bang come from?