The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Greg Chafuen regarding Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signing Friday of HF 870, a bill that protects the right of parents to have their child briefly excused from school to receive religious instruction during the school day if they so choose:
“Parents have the right and responsibility to guide the upbringing and education of their children. The government should not stop families from raising their children in their family’s faith. HF 870 respects parents’ educational decisions, allowing public school children to be briefly excused from school to receive free, off-campus religious instruction taught by private charitable organizations. As the U.S. Supreme Court explained, respecting parents’ decisions for their child to participate in released time programs ‘follows the best of our traditions.’ ADF commends Sen. Mike Pike, Rep. Jeff Shipley, the Iowa Legislature, and Gov. Reynolds for making sure parents are in the driver’s seat when it comes to their kids’ education. We also thank The Family Leader for its monumental work on this effort.”
- Pronunciation guide: Chafuen (CHAFF’-wen)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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