140 Clergy Members Support Ohio Bill Giving Parents Oversight of Children’s School Curriculum

Parents and others are pushing back on radical curriculums in Ohio schools that promote racial and gender ideologies. The pushback includes 140 clergy members who have announced support for a House bill that would redirect funding from schools to parents.

HB 290, nicknamed the Backpack Bill, “will direct the state’s per pupil allocation to be placed into an Educational Scholarship Account for any student who opts in. Parents can use that money ($5,500 for grades K-8 and $7,500 for grades 9-12) for tuition at a private school or for home school. If a student chooses their local public school or community school, the funding will follow them there, just like it currently does.”

The clergy from the Buckeye Bible Belt distributed a press release to the media to announce the letter they sent to the Ohio General Assembly.

“Does the government really know what’s best for kids? In some Ohio public schools, instead of reading, writing, and arithmetic, elementary students are being taught about preferred pronouns and the number of gender identities they can have. Last Fall when informed parents took their concerns to the local school boards about the 1619 Project, and the divisive Critical Race Theory, the Department of Justice classified them as ‘domestic terrorists,’” the press release said.

“The Ohio public school system in our great state has gotten out of hand,” Bishop Sylvester Ginn of Ontario said about the pastors’ support of the bill. ”With pornographic curriculum, gender-neutral bathrooms, and the grooming of students to become activists for radical agendas, the monopoly numerous dysfunctional schools have in Ohio must end.”

”The Backpack Bill is school choice, student empowerment, and parental rights in one package,” pastor John Temple said in the announcement. “It brings greater accountability to schools, which we think could make public schools perform better in the public eye. This is about improving the education of our young people.”

“As Scripture says, ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth,’” Temple said.

The letter said in part:

It is our firm conviction that empowering parents to make decisions for their own children can help Ohio boost its academic scores, whether in public, private, or home school settings. The Backpack Bill is a school freedom model where educational funding supports students instead of systems. Moreover, as clergymen representing one hundred and four congregations across North Central Ohio, we humbly implore that you support the passage of House Bill 290.

State Rep. Marilyn John (R) sponsored the bill, which is also supported by the Center for Christian Virtue.

“Education is not a one size fits all and we believe parents should have the ability to direct their tax dollars to the educational choice that best fits their child,” John said. “The Backpack Bill would give them this option regardless of their zip code or income level.”

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