State Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Pike Road) is moving forward with his effort to restore voluntary prayer and devotion time in schools. "We’ve got to get back to God in this country and it starts with our kids," Ingram told 1819 News in an interview.
Ingram stressed that our schools provide supplemental food for kids who need it, and he sees this as meeting a critical need, too. He said that while there are several reasons children's needs aren't being met, including parents just not having the time due to work or other obligations.
"This will make it so they have time to pray with their friends and peers," Ingram said. "We need to be supplementing these kids when they eat and pray."
House Bill 511 (HB511) will be up for a vote in the House State Government Committee on Wednesday.
The bill would go to the voters as a constitutional amendment before being sent to the districts to vote on a plan.
Each superintendent would be required to send to their school board a vote on whether their district would participate. There are no consequences if a district chooses not to allow its students to have prayer.
There would be a penalty for schools if the school board doesn’t vote within 90 days. Ingram explained that this is to prevent districts from ignoring the will of the people.
According to Ingram, some school boards have not implemented policies for the Pledge of Allegiance, even though it is required.
The prayer and devotion time would be voluntary and not in the classroom, but rather in a designated place, and the local school districts can set up a system that works for their area.
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) spoke in opposition to the bill last week in part due to concerns that it being on the ballot would drive out conservative voters and hurt Democrats in the upcoming elections.
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