Free Republic

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) -- A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that argued weekly Bible classes are unconstitutional in the public schools of Rhea County, the same county where the "Scopes Monkey Trial" pitted creationists against evolutionists 79 years ago. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed Monday with a February 2002 ruling by U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar of Chattanooga. Edgar ruled that the Bible Education Ministry program in Rhea County violated the First Amendment's clause calling for separation of church and state. The 30-minute classes were held weekly for...

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The parents of a first-grader are fuming over the book their daughter brought home from the school library: a children's story about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince. Michael Hartsell said he and his wife, Tonya, couldn't believe it when Prince Bertie, the leading character in ``King & King,'' waves off a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince Lee. The book ends with the princes marrying and sharing a kiss. ``I was flabbergasted,'' Hartsell said. ``My child is not old enough to understand something like that, especially when it is...

Gone are the Norman Rockwell days of sending young Scooter off to school with his satchel slung over his shoulder, PBJ sandwich in his Superman lunch box and a wide-eyed expectancy of learning, the kind that makes individuals and nations great. With regard to the safe and trusted haven that was the public school, the fat lady has officially sung. Not only did Big Mama sing a while back, she’s been in the grave decomposing for a solid 40 years. I hate to sound like a freaked out parent, but I AM A FREAKED OUT PARENT! -- and I’m seriously...

Montgomery County public school students who attend Monday's rally in Annapolis in support of the $1.3 billion Thornton education plan could earn credits toward the service learning credits required for graduation. Students can earn two service learning credit hours for attending the rally, said Montgomery County schools spokeswoman Kate Harrison. Students begin earning community service credits the summer before sixth grade under a state requirement for graduation. Each county sets its own guidelines for how students can earn the credits. Montgomery County requires that students accumulate 60 credit hours in order to graduate. "There are a variety of ways that...

Chancellor High School student suspended for five days for having two Tylenol YOUTH CORRESPONDENTIt happened like this:Each seventh of a school day has its own distinct characteristics. The first class of the day is passed in a half-dazed state of semiconsciousness and quickly blends into second period.At this point, the dull realization sets in that a new day is just beginning.After first period, waking life is a thing of the past. The sour taste of the early morning is cut by Winterfresh gum, and the teacher's writing on the chalkboard looks a little less blurry.However, eyes still droop every now...

Allan Etter, spokesman for the Washington, D.C. Fire Department, says two teenagers were shot inside Ballou Senior High School in Southeast, Washington, D.C. this morning.One teen was shot in the chest and is being Medivacced to Childrens Hospital. The other was shot in the leg and is being treated on the scene before transport to a local hospital.No report on whether the shooter was caught or if it was more than one shooter.Our nation's capital is in the throes of a violent crime wave with almost one murder a day, gang warfare in broad daylight, bus drivers being stabbed and...

A proposed set of guidelines for middle and high school science classes in Georgia has caused a furor after state education officials removed the word "evolution" and scaled back ideas about the age of Earth and the natural selection of species. Educators across the state said that the document, which was released on the Internet this month, was a veiled effort to bolster creationism and that it would leave the state's public school graduates at a disadvantage. "They've taken away a major component of biology and acted as if it doesn't exist," said David Bechler, who heads the biology department...