Hamilton County public schools in Tennessee near Chattanooga offer an elective program teaching the Christian Bible from a historical and literary perspective. Juniper Russo, a parent of three Jewish children, enrolled her eighth-grade daughter in the class. 

“I was hesitant about allowing my daughter to take the class, but she has disabilities that made the other available electives for the time block inaccessible to her,” Russo wrote on Facebook. “I also would not necessarily be opposed to a class that actually taught the Christian Bible as literature rather than as fact.”

According to Russo, much of the material was proselytizing in nature, focused on proving the “truth” of the Christian Bible rather than teaching it as literature. Russo objected to the teaching style employed by Anna McClung. 

“Our issues with Ms. McClung started at the very beginning of the semester, when my daughter brought home a syllabus for me to agree to. The language in it was incredibly abrasive and, among other things, specified that she can choose not to allow students to use the restroom and that students using the restroom can never be gone more than 2-3 minutes. I refused to agree to these terms because no one is going to deny my child the right to use the restroom, and we’re in the middle of a pandemic and children need to wash their hands.” 

Russo objected to the story of Creation being approached as a factual account. 

“I drew a hard line and withdrew my daughter from Bible class when it actually turned hostile on February 2,” Russo wrote. “Ms. McClung wrote an English transliteration of the Hebrew name of God on the white board. This name is traditionally not spoken out loud, and is traditionally only written in the Torah. She then told her students, ‘If you want to know how to torture a Jew, make them say this out loud’.”

“My daughter felt extremely uncomfortable hearing a teacher instruct her peers on ‘how to torture a Jew’ and told me when she came home from school that she didn’t feel safe in the class.”

Russo contacted the school and the local Jewish Federation. Mr. Hildreth, the principal, responded, noting that it was against the policy of the Bible in the Schools program for the teacher to contact the parents. 

“This program has been used for over 100 years to force religion in public schools and to ostracize children who are not Christian,” Russo wrote. “And I am sick to my stomach, especially in the wake of the ‘Maus’ controversy in nearby McMinn County, to know that school hours and school resources would ever be used to teach children ‘how to torture a Jew.’ How can we say that our schools have zero tolerance for bullying if a teacher is actually instructing students on how to do it?”

Russo has contacted the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga and the Anti-Defamation League. 

The school system began offering the class in 1922. The course follows guidelines established by a 1963 US Supreme Court ruling in School District of Abington Township v. Schempp that while legally or officially mandated Bible reading or prayer in public schools is unconstitutional, the study of the Bible or religion, “when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education,” could be carried out without violating the First Amendment.

“Hamilton County Schools is committed to ensuring that our students and staff experience a climate of belonging and support,” Steve Doremus, communications officer for the school district, said in a statement to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “This week, HCS received a parent complaint concerning classroom activities involving the Bible History elective course at East Hamilton Middle School. In accordance with school board policy, the district is investigating the complaint. When completed, HCS will take appropriate steps based on the findings of that review.”

“The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga is aware of the issues concerning an elective Bible class at East Hamilton Middle School and appreciate both East Hamilton and HCS investigating the claims and taking them seriously,” said Michael Dzik, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, to the Times Free Press. “The Jewish Federation has a long history of working with our multi-faith partners as well as HCS to help create an appreciation for diversity and understanding of all faiths and cultures. Moving forward, we look forward to a healthy dialog with the Bible in the Schools organization. Additionally, we hope they use this as an opportunity to reflect on and assess both their curriculum and how their teachers are presenting the material to ensure these classes are education, not indoctrination.”