A bill to create the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025 is headed to the Arkansas House – after State Senate approval on Tuesday. Senate Bill 223 would allow students and employees of any religion to pray, assemble, study and promote their faith at public schools. it would also allow school Districts to offer classes that provide quote, “academic study of the Bible.”
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, Toni Rose with the National Association of Christian Lawmakers supports the intention of the bill. “To demonstrate that faith to bring a bible, to say a prayer, within the confines of the school day and curriculum. So, we’re not asking teachers to teach religion. We’re only clarifying because of the years of confusion and push back on people of faith within a public school and charter school environment.” SB223 was referred to the Arkansas House Committee on Education on Tuesday.
Yet, the ACLU of Arkansas describes the legislation as “a solution in search of a problem –and one that could erode religious freedom rather than protect it.” The civil rights organization cites three factors in its “strong opposition” to the proposed legislation contending that SB223: could result in unconstitutional practices and costly litigation; opens the door for religious coercion in the classroom; and is unnecessary because both the First Amendment and Arkansas’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act already safeguard religious expression in schools.
