Pennsylvania is the last in the nation to still have as state law what the Ku Klux Klan crafted for implementing their anti-Catholic sentiment upon schools and educators.
Today, the PA House Education Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 84, the “Religious Garb” bill, which has already passed out of the PA Senate with a unanimous vote.
The Religious Garb bill is a much needed solution for Pennsylvanians who wish to exercise their right to express their religion. The bill would eliminate a section from PA Education Code that prohibits a teacher from wearing any dress, emblem or insignia that indicates his or her faith or denomination.
The current anti-religious state law dates back to efforts by the KKK in the early 1900s. Nebraska passed a law in 2017 to remove this KKK-backed ban, making Pennsylvania the only state left to still have a religious garb ban on educators as official state public school policy.
Led by State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), passing the Religious Garb bill into law would give teachers the First Amendment freedom to express their faith in ways like wearing a cross necklace.
“A teacher should not be worried about his or her job for simply wearing a cross on a necklace,” states Sen. Phillips-Hill. “Our First Amendment rights do not end simply because a teacher walks into a classroom.”
PA Family supports this effort to further protect religious freedom. The Religious Garb bill now goes to the full PA House.
