H. B. 2128
(By Delegate Hrutkay)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-15g, relating
to requiring county boards of education to establish the daily
observance of a minute of silence in all county schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-15g, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-15g. Daily observance of one minute of silence.
In order that the right of every pupil to the free exercise of
religion be guaranteed within the schools and that the freedom of
each individual pupil be subject to the least possible pressure
from the state either to engage in, or to refrain from, religious
observation on school grounds, the county board of education of each county shall establish the daily observance of one minute of
silence in each classroom of the county. The teacher responsible
for each classroom shall take care that all pupils remain seated
and silent and make no distracting display to the end that each
pupil may, in the exercise of his or her individual choice,
meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does
not interfere with, distract, or impede other pupils in the like
exercise of individual choice, during the one-minute period of
silence.
The Attorney General shall intervene and shall provide legal
defense of this law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require county boards of
education to establish the observance of a daily "minute of
silence".
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.