It's been a pleasure, mostly, to see the Legislature at work this time around. Usually we write about the Ledge. As in something to jump off of. At great height. To disaster. But lawmakers have been, dare we say, sane(r) this year.
Mostly.
Sure, there have been some bad bills proposed, but for the most part they've been tabled or rejected. To which Arkansas citizens can be thankful. (We still don't know what to make of Senate Bill 550. Give us a couple of days.)
As far as good news, where to begin? How about at the beginning, when the Earth was without form and darkness was on the face of the deep. That's how the Bible describes the beginning. And lawmakers are swiftly pushing through a bill that would require schools to offer classes on the Bible if enough students request it.
House Bill 1626 by Rep. Joe Cloud (R-Russellville), would require schools to offer such an elective if 15 students ask for it. And why not? After all, this is the age of biblical illiteracy. Which is a shame. On the frontier, young Abe Lincoln might not have had a lot of books to study, but he did have a King James Bible on hand. That and a little Shakespeare. Which might explain why reading Lincoln's words today, as should be done even in modern schools, one can hear the biblical cadences and references. It's why his second inaugural should be required reading in American schools.
But would the kids today get it? Judge not lest ye be judged? Hasn't this guy ever heard of Judge Judy?
Some of us have never understood why the Book of Books has been all but outlawed in some of the more enlightened school districts. Not officially so, of course. But the fear of litigation is real in American schools, and some administrators would rather the whole subject go away. Bible? Never heard of it. And will deny any thought of scripture three times before the cock crows.
How can a book of poetry, of proverbs, of history, of deeply conservative yet--somehow at the same time--subversive stories be considered unfit for a classroom? Because of the separation of church and state? As long as the teacher is teaching and not preaching, we think the kids will be okay. There are teachers out there fully capable of teaching this course. They should have no problem staying on the right side of the law, especially since court rulings have said that education is different from indoctrination.
If a little common sense is used--that sense common to most educators--then the students should get a lot from these classes. As far as their education goes, they shall be renewed. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. They may even make the A-B honor roll.
Most folks would probably approve of other bills passed by the Legislature this year. The bill banning shackles on female prisoners giving birth is one. Moving the presidential primary to March next year is another. And this Capital Promise Scholarship is something for which to sing Hosanna.
The House also overwhelmingly approved a bill that would give in-state tuition to college students brought to this country as small children.
These kids are Arkansas kids. Sure, they may not have their papers in order, but this is the only country they've ever known. They went to high school here. They are Redbugs or Wampus Cats or Red Devils or Bulldogs.
These are DACA kids, aka Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals kids, even better aka Dreamers. Not only did the state House of Representatives vote to extend to them in-state tuition (if they've been here three years and graduated from high school here) but the House voted 75-11 to do so. It's been a while since we've been so proud.
Until now, those kids--your neighbors, maybe--have been told to pay international tuition rates at Arkansas colleges. Which can be triple the cost. Imagine all that tax money put into their education in elementary, middle school and high school. Then when they get ready for college, We the People tell them they must pay for the sins of their fathers.
There's a reason protecting DACA kids has support among Democrats and Republicans, in Washington and Little Rock. It would be unfair, even un-American, to treat them differently. Until real, comprehensive immigration reform is passed on a federal level, the least we can do is make sure these particular kids can continue their education.
And we shall not vex them. But treat them as if they were born among us. And shalt love them as ourselves. For we were once strangers in the land of Egypt. We think we've read something like that once.
Editorial on 03/22/2019