# Public School in Minnesota teaching religion **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 9, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675 "2008-04-09T22:09:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ManiacMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b782af/32.png) [@ManiacMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ManiacMan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/1 "2008-04-09T22:09:48Z")
> **[Teacher questions Muslim practices at charter school](https://www.startribune.com/april-9-teacher-questions-muslim-practices-at-charter-school/17406054/)** > > If Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights, were a Christian school, it would likely be gone in a heartbeat. I thought that a public school that is funded by tax payers is not allowed to have religious endeavours…sounds like mandatory prayer and other religious studies is going on in this public charter school. I don’t understand how taxpayer money can be used to fund this institution. Of course if this school is a private school…more power to them. However, it appears that this school is a public charter school, and is therefore funded by taxpayer dollars. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/2 "2008-04-09T22:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=ManiacMan] [http://www.startribune.com/local/17406054.html](http://www.startribune.com/local/17406054.html) I thought that a public school that is funded by tax payers is not allowed to have religious endeavours…sounds like mandatory prayer and other religious studies is going on in this public charter school. I don’t understand how taxpayer money can be used to fund this institution. Of course if this school is a private school…more power to them. However, it appears that this school is a public charter school, and is therefore funded by taxpayer dollars. Am I missing something? [/QUOTE] Well is the Charter able to be a religious institution? Isn’t the point of the Office of Faith Based Initiatives to allow religious organizations to compete for federal funding? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/3 "2008-04-09T22:33:33Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Well is the Charter able to be a religious institution? Isn’t the point of the Office of Faith Based Initiatives to allow religious organizations to compete for federal funding? [/QUOTE] School funding is done through the states, so it wouldn’t matter what the federal $$ are. If the story is accurate, then this school is operating illegally. It looks more like an opinion piece, though, than an actual news article. I’m suspicious. Some of the stuff she complains about, like serving Halal food, shouldn’t be an issue. More info would be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/4 "2008-04-09T23:20:12Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] School funding is done through the states, so it wouldn’t matter what the federal $$ are. If the story is accurate, then this school is operating illegally. It looks more like an opinion piece, though, than an actual news article. I’m suspicious. Some of the stuff she complains about, like serving Halal food, shouldn’t be an issue. More info would be helpful. [/QUOTE] A substitute teacher who spent one day at the school is the only source in this article. And the writer’s other works indicate she has strong opinions. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/5 "2008-04-09T23:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] A substitute teacher who spent one day at the school is the only source in this article. And the writer’s other works indicate she has strong opinions. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I did some googling on this school, and hers is the only article that brings up those issues. There are other blog-type articles, but they’re all based on hers. You’d think something as blatant as she is claiming would’ve been picked up by at least one other person. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/6 "2008-04-10T00:11:14Z")
The issues I see: - The required school assembly for prayer. - Holding the busses until AFTER the “voluntary” after school Islamic teaching activities. - If there is any taxpayer money specifically used for religious instruction. Non-issues: - Serving Halal food - nothing wrong with providing food to student’s dietary requirements, as long as they provide it for all. - Offering religious instruction on the property, as long as they are open to all groups. - Allowing times for prayer, as long as it is not required of students who do not wish to participate. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/7 "2008-04-10T02:36:03Z")
I find it a bit odd that the only source for all of this is an op-ed by [this woman](http://www.mediatransparency.org/personprofile.php?personID=160), using [this woman](http://teamsunderman.blogspot.com/2006/01/candidate-profile-amanda-getz-vice.html) as a source. If it turns out that all of the accusations are true, I’ll happily join in calling for action. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/8 "2008-04-10T02:50:30Z")
[QUOTE=DMC] I find it a bit odd that the only source for all of this is an op-ed by [this woman](http://www.mediatransparency.org/personprofile.php?personID=160), using [this woman](http://teamsunderman.blogspot.com/2006/01/candidate-profile-amanda-getz-vice.html) as a source. If it turns out that all of the accusations are true, I’ll happily join in calling for action. [/QUOTE] Is there something on the web site of “this woman” (the source) that caught your attention? I didn’t see anything. Like I said, something seems fishy about this story, but I was just wondering what it was about “this woman” that raised a red flag. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/9 "2008-04-10T03:49:58Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Is there something on the web site of “this woman” (the source) that caught your attention? I didn’t see anything. Like I said, something seems fishy about this story, but I was just wondering what it was about “this woman” that raised a red flag. [/QUOTE] [She](http://www.rakemag.com/reporting/features/one-woman-solution) [is](http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=64) [a](http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=174) [bit](http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=42) more political wonk (hell, some of her past salary was Scaife money) than I typically desire when I’m reading news that isn’t directly related to politics. [She](http://www.opinionjournal.com/cc/?id=110009832) also isn’t too fond of Muslims in general, and she’s a bit hypocritical in her criticisms. She finds fault that the one charter school is in a building that houses a mosque, but on the other hand, she raves about a school that teaches using “[Classical Education](http://www.accsedu.org/36664.ihtml)” methods. That school can be found at 8600 Bloomington Avenue. Guess [what else](http://www.cvchurch.org/doctrines.aspx) has the address 8600 Bloomington Avenue? Again, I have no problem with the school’s behavior being looked into, and if it violates SOCAS, then go to town on them. I just like my news a bit less agenda-driven. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-school-in-minnesota-teaching-religion/444675/10 "2008-04-10T03:57:03Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Is there something on the web site of “this woman” (the source) that caught your attention? I didn’t see anything. Like I said, something seems fishy about this story, but I was just wondering what it was about “this woman” that raised a red flag. [/QUOTE] Oh, I just realized that you were referring to Ms. Getz. She was a highly active member of the College Republicans. By itself, not really a big deal, but considering the background of both her as well as the writer, my red flag gets raised a notch.