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LAND O’LAKES, Fla. — Should a Bible verse be included in a letter from the state’s Department of Education?
Some families say that it violates the separation of church and state, so they were surprised when they received a letter from Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas quoting Proverbs 22:6.
Denise Mestanza-Taylor received the email from the state’s education commissioner before winter break.
“They were just talking about our rights as parents, and the freedoms we have as homeschoolers,” she said. “It listed some resources.”
Addressed to “Florida’s parents,” the letter started by thanking private and homeschool families, which Mestanza-Taylor is. But she says when she got to the third paragraph, she said, “It listed a Bible verse, Proverbs 22:6 about guiding our children on the right path. I’m paraphrasing, but it just struck me as odd to see this Bible verse in a letter from the DOE.”
Mestanza-Taylor says her family is Christian, but she firmly believes in secular education.
On the other side, Tampa Bay Christian Homeschool Families disagreed, saying the following in a statement from Misty Sosa.
“It is refreshing to see a public official acknowledge parents’ God-given rights and responsibilities regarding the education and raising of children. I would submit that excluding Christianity from the public is not a neutral position,” Sosa said. “It is, in fact, an argument in favor of a secular religion. All humans worship. Some worship God; some worship man. All worship.”
“It puts one religion above all. Yes, as a Christian, I understand that we are to minister to others, but how would someone feel if it was a scripture from the Quran that was in a letter,” said Mestanza-Taylor.
She says that while the Bible does have its place in her home, it doesn’t have a place in state education.
Spectrum News reached out to the State’s Department of Education multiple times for a statement on the letter that included the Bible verse. It has not responded to any of our requests.