Dozens of community members, including parents and teachers from a variety of religious or nonreligious backgrounds, showed up at the latest Kern County Board of Education meeting on Dec. 17 to urge the board to drop its push to impose the Ten Commandments on students.
Despite this outpouring of support for the Constitution and the rights of students and parents, the board still appears poised to move forward with the unconstitutional effort. It will likely vote on the proposal at its next meeting on Jan. 14.
To Kern County community members: Thank you for your courage in speaking out against this troubling initiative. We stand with you in defending the separation of church and state, ensuring that all students are welcome in public schools, regardless of their religious or nonreligious beliefs.
FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line, who recently spoke about the issue with 23ABC News KERO-TV Bakersfield, reiterates that “displaying the Ten Commandments — a religious code central to Jewish and Christian beliefs — excludes students who adhere to different faiths or no faith at all, and violates the U.S. and California Constitutions.”
Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor issued the following statement:
“The Kern County Board of Education’s alarming intention to impose biblical doctrine in public schools despite the pleas of many Kern County parents and residents is a dereliction of their duty to support our secular Constitution and the will of the people. Our public schools serve students of all backgrounds and beliefs — and at least 22 percent with no religion. It is not the government’s role to promote a specific religious doctrine. The Ten Commandments have no place in our secular educational system.”
FFRF urges the Kern County Board of Education to reconsider its position and prioritize the constitutional rights of its students and families over sectarian agendas. FFRF will monitor this situation closely and take action to protect the rights of conscience of Kern County students should the board unwisely move forward with this unconstitutional plan.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 40,000 members and several chapters across the country, including more than 5,100 members and two chapters in California. Our purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
