NC House Bill 588

How many were aware that House Bill 588
“ AN ACT TO ENACT THE FOUNDING PRINCIPLES ACT “ was passed in 2011 and applies next year.

SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

I think CCTA should lead the way in making sure that our local school board complies, especially concerning section 3.

(3a) Local boards of education shall allow and may encourage any public school teacher or administrator to read or post in a public school building, classroom, or event, excerpts or portions of writings, documents, and records that reflect the history of the United States, including, but not limited to, (i) the preamble to the North Carolina Constitution, (ii) the Declaration of Independence, (iii) the United States Constitution, (iv) the Mayflower Compact, (v) the national motto, (vi) the National Anthem, (vii) the Pledge of Allegiance, (viii) the writings, speeches, documents, and proclamations of Page 2 Session Law 2011-273 SL2011-0273

 the founding fathers and Presidents of the United States, (ix) decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, and (x) acts of the Congress of the United States, including the published text of the Congressional Record. Local boards, superintendents, principals, and supervisors shall not allow content-based censorship of American history in the public schools of this State, including religious references in these writings, documents, and records. Local boards and professional school personnel may develop curricula and use materials that are limited to specified topics provided the curricula and materials are aligned with the standard course of study or are grade level appropriate.

 (3b) A local school administrative unit may display on real property controlled by that local school administrative unit documents and objects of historical significance that have formed and influenced the United States legal or governmental system and that exemplify the development of the rule of law, such as the Magna Carta, the Mecklenburg Declaration, the Ten Commandments, the Justinian Code, and documents set out in subdivision (3a) of this subsection. This display may include, but shall not be limited to, documents that contain words associated with a religion; provided however, no display shall seek to establish or promote religion or to persuade any person to embrace a particular religion, denomination of a religion, or other philosophy. The display of a document containing words associated with a religion shall be in the same manner and appearance generally as other documents and objects displayed and shall not be presented or displayed in any fashion that results in calling attention to it apart from the other displayed documents and objects. The display also shall be accompanied by a prominent sign quoting the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

 Therefore, I plan to establish a Friends of 588 taskforce to rally the troops and begin raising funds to provide the schools with the aforementioned documents so there will be no excuse for the local board’s failure to comply. I will also reach out to faith leaders to join in this effort and to encourage Christians to take full advantage of this opportunity to restore the Ten Commandments to our schools. We owe a debt of gratitude to the sponsors of this bill who have afforded us the opportunity to restore “The Founding Principles” to their rightful place within our schools.

Bill 588 Sponsors:

Brubaker; (Primary) Blust; Bradley; Collins; Cook; Current; Faircloth; Hager; Horn; Hurley; Ingle; Jones; Jordan; Justice; McGee; Moffitt; T. Moore; Murry; Sanderson; Setzer; Steen; Stevens; Stone; Torbett; H. Warren;

The final vote was 106-5. This is the will of the people, and we, the silent majority, will be SILENT NO MORE! It is our Christian and Civic responsibility to insure that this opportunity is not lost or missed because of lack of knowledge or support.

See full bill HERE

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