Free YOUR Children was notified by a follower in November that the Satanic Temple had released a statement regarding The Hellion Academy that would be opening in Tennessee Middle School in Bristol, Tennessee. I immediately addressed the issue in a livestream on the Free YOUR Children Facebook page.
The school responded with the following:
Dear TMS Parents/Guardians:
There was a post on social media yesterday about a release time course at Tennessee Middle School. In response to questions we are receiving, please see the message below from Director of Schools Dr. Annette Tudor. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Our school system previously received a “released time course” request from the Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (HAIL). Bristol Tennessee City Schools processes such requests under state law at Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-130, which explains that:
A “‘released time course’ means a period of time during which a student is excused from school to attend a course in religious moral instruction taught by an independent entity off school property.”
Therefore, parents must choose to allow their children to participate in HAIL, yet those students will not and cannot receive any “released time course” instruction while at school. HAIL is and will at all times remain an independent entity as defined by state law and will remain an independent entity that Bristol Tennessee City Schools neither supports nor endorses, Our school system respects the rights of parents to make decisions related to their children, and we will leave it up to parents to determine if they want their children released from school under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-130 for HAIL activities. Thank you,
Luke Douthat
Principal
Tennessee Middle School
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The Satanic Temple is capitalizing on a bill that was passed in Tennessee, HB 2542/SB 2473. The bill requires a public school to excuse a student from school to attend a released time course if requested by the student’s parent or legal guardian, even if the local board of education has not adopted a policy on released time courses, and authorizes local boards of education to transport students attending a released time course to and from the place of instruction if the entity providing the instruction reimburses the LEA for the services.
Sometimes bills have unintended consequences. What many people fail to realize is that public schools must operate with equality per the First Amendment. Well-meaning legislators are pushing the Bible to be taught in schools while failing to realize the consequences of these actions. This is a direct result of the push to place Christianity into the government institution of public school. How many times have you heard Christians say that we need to put the Bible back into public schools? I’ve lost count. Remember that if and when that happens you are going to be required to put all other ideologies into those schools as well. The Satanic Temple recognizes this and in turn is using the Constitution to sue and win.
In Pennsylvania the Temple was awarded $200,000 dollars.
“Under the settlement, the district must give TST and the ASSC [After School Satan Club] the same access to school facilities that other comparable organizations receive,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. “The agreement also prohibits the district from retaliating against TST, the ASSC, their volunteers, and their members based on their viewpoint or ‘the exercise of their First Amendment rights.’ The district has agreed to pay $200,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to TST’s attorneys.”
Additionally, Memphis -Shelby County Schools agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a suit filed on behalf of the Satanic Temple.
You may be asking, “What does this have to do with school choice?” After Free YOUR Children posted about the Satanic Temple’s HAIL Club in a Tennessee school, the post exploded with comments expressing anger that it was being allowed. If you are a Christian conservative who is angered about the HAIL Club being allowed in public schools, you need to understand this: if school choice passes in Tennessee, not only will clubs with ideologies that you may not agree with be opening in public schools, your tax dollars will be funding schools that teach ideologies such as these. Let me say that again. Your tax dollars will be funding schools with ideologies that are in direct conflict with your beliefs, such as the following, already up and running:
And the list goes on. It will only continue to expand at the expense of the taxpayers. No matter your opinion, if school choice passes in your state, this is what school choice looks like. Those choices are choices for everyone, not just Christians.
My intention of the post regarding the Satanic Temple’s HAIL Club was not to create rage clickbait. I am not surprised in the least that this is happening. It was expected. I have watched this unfold now for years. The intention of the livestream and the post was to inform. I have no need to create clickbait. The system constantly gives me the content I need to continue to grow my ministry and my following.
As I have said before, we are in a battle for the souls of our nation’s children. Unfortunately, most people are complacent and pay little attention to what is going on in education or in their legislatures. They simply listen to the media and politicians who vomit propaganda they have been spoon-fed by lobbyists until the issues land in their own yard or their own school system. None of this is new. It will continue until the populace decides to do its research, get engaged and act.
Free YOUR Children seeks to educate families on what is happening in terms of parental, educational and Constitutional rights not only in Tennessee but in the nation at large.
If you do not want your taxes funding additional schools with ideologies you do not agree with, then you must stand against school choice. If you choose not to stand, you will fund it. The goal of school choice is to advance communism and destroy true private education. It is not conservative and it is the exact opposite of choice. It destroys choice. When the government is in control of all educational choices, there is no freedom.
Did you know that every time vouchers have been placed on the ballot, the initiative fails? We the people do not want our tax dollars funding private education. Why then are politicians pushing this initiative when the people have been clear on their position? Follow the money. Those who are funding their campaigns likely have a vested interest in the money they will make off of the backs of taxpayers and those politicians likely have grander political aspirations. They are making decisions based on what is best for them and in turn not representing their constituents. Hold your elected officials accountable. They work for you.
What the government funds it runs, and equality applies. Be careful what you wish for.