Sevastopol Updates Religion in Curriculum Policy

“Schools can teach about religion but they can’t teach religion,” said Superintendent Linda Underwood. Photo by Len Villano

The Sevastopol School District is adding to its religion in the curriculum policy as part of a routine code review.

“In the classroom we don’t promote, compel or pressure any student to participate in a devotional exercise,” said Superintendent Linda Underwood.

Underwood said the policy’s basics won’t change, but the drafts have added more detail to the concept. The new drafts add a paragraph about the district complying with the First Amendment and clarifying the procedure for parents who want to pull their children from classes that conflict with the family’s religious beliefs. Students pulled from classes are given other options to make up the time.

“Schools can teach about religion but they can’t teach religion,” Underwood said. “Places where you might find people opt out, and I haven’t seen that here but it’s one of those things that wouldn’t be unexpected in other school districts, is in science. If there were portions of science parents objected to, believing it was in conflict with their religious beliefs, parents could opt out.”

Underwood said the initiative to update the policy came from a service Sevastopol subscribes to that recommends school policy additions or revisions.