Academic Bible Class Enrollment Grows in Arkansas
Data from the Arkansas Department of Education shows 264 public school students enrolled in courses to study the Bible academically this year.
In 2013 Arkansas passed Act 1440 by Rep. Denny Altes (R — Fort Smith) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) to let public schools offer elective, academic courses that study “the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, culture, and politics.”
The law says the course must be objective and nonsectarian, and it must meet the same academic standards as other elective courses offered in public schools. Anyone wishing to teach the course must be licensed to teach in the State of Arkansas.
In 2019 the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1016 by Rep. Joe Cloud (R — Russellville), Rep. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville), and Sen. Bob Ballinger (R — Ozark). Act 1016 helped make technical clarifications to Act 1440 of 2013.
Over the past 12 years, different school districts in the state have chosen to offer academic courses on the Bible under this type of official state framework. Now data from the Arkansas Department of Education shows 264 public school students enrolled in elective, academic courses on the Bible at 18 schools this year.
The data indicates the number of students choosing to study the Bible academically at school has grown. Last year, 126 students studied the Bible at 10 different schools in Arkansas, and the year before that 125 students learned about the Bible at seven schools.
Below is a list of school districts offering courses on the Bible this school year.
| SCHOOL DISTRICT | COURSE | NUMBER OF STUDENTS |
| FOUNDERS CLASSICAL ACADEMIES OF ARKANSAS | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 1 |
| VALLEY SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 10 |
| GURDON SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 10 |
| MAGNOLIA SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 13 |
| NETTLETON SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 19 |
| VAN BUREN SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 43 |
| FORDYCE SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 4 |
| MARMADUKE SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 10 |
| HOPE SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 1 |
| DIERKS SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 21 |
| LONOKE SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 24 |
| DEER MT JUDEA SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 3 |
| EAST END SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 17 |
| ACADEMICS PLUS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 5 |
| PREMIER HIGH SCHOOLS OF ARKANSAS | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 1 |
| BRYANT SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 59 |
| SEARCY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 10 |
| SOUTH SIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Van Buren) | Academic Study of the Bible (0.5 credit) | 13 |
Courts have said the U.S. Constitution does not prevent public school students from being taught about the Bible and its significance throughout human history, provided that the instruction is neutral and educational.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision went so far as to say, “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.”
This year lawmakers passed S.B. 223, the Religious Rights at Public School Act by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs). This good law affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.
The law does not create any new rights or freedoms, but it does identify existing religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the freedom to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school.
The law also highlights the freedom that schools have to offer academic courses on the Bible under Act 1440 of 2013.
S.B. 223 does not change any laws about the academic study of the Bible in Arkansas, but it does help draw attention to the fact that state law and U.S. Supreme Court rulings let public schools offer these elective courses. It passed with strong support in the Arkansas Senate and Arkansas House, and Gov. Sanders signed it into law last month as Act 400 of 2025.
It’s good to see Arkansas’ schools offering these academic courses on the Bible to students across the state. After all, no single book has been more influential over our civilization than the Bible.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Full Court Press: Mid Vermont Christian School Asks for Religious Freedom Protections
A private school in Vermont is asking a federal court to stop the state’s athletic association from penalizing the school after the school’s girls’ basketball team forfeited a game against a team with a male athlete who identifies as a female.
The following is from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom regarding the case:
Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) was punished by Vermont officials after it chose not to violate its beliefs.
Read more: https://adflegal.org/article/vermont-…
Coach Chris Goodwin and the MVCS girls’ basketball team decided to forfeit a game rather than force its girls to play against a team with a male. MVCS believes that God uniquely created everyone either male or female with distinct characteristics and that sex cannot be changed, so participation would propagate a lie. Facilitating a girls’ basketball game in which a male plays would have forced MVCS to violate its beliefs.
But the Vermont Principals Association (VPA), Vermont’s state sports association, punished MVCS by barring it from participating in all VPA sports and activities, not just girls’ basketball. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of MVCS challenging Vermont’s religious discrimination.
After a federal district court’s unfavorable ruling, ADF appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. We presented oral argument before the 2nd Circuit on April 9, 2025.
Mid Vermont Christian School v. Saunders case details: https://adflegal.org/case/mid-vermont…
Stories like this one are part of the reason Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) in 2021 to prevent male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.
We have written time and again about how women’s athletics is at risk of being erased in America.
Female cyclists, swimmers, powerlifters, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women.
Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair. It reverses 50 years of advancements for women, and in some cases it can even be dangerous.
Earlier this year President Trump signed an executive order that helps protects women and girls from being forced to compete against men. It also protects women’s right to privacy in locker rooms, showers, changing areas, and similar facilities, and it directs federal officials to withdraw funding from educational programs that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.”
We appreciate our policymakers who work hard to protect fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas and across the country, and we appreciate our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom who are standing up for women and girls in federal court.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.