NAMPA -- A Nampa charter school learned Monday morning that it is in more trouble with the state. Nampa Classical Academy had already tallied up three warnings from the state charter commission, and Monday added numbers four and five.
Before the school year started, the state told Nampa Classical Academy it could not use religious texts in the classroom. The school filed a lawsuit to get that decision reversed. That is still pending. But the school isn't waiting. The school's attorney is telling school leaders to immediately begin using the Bible and other religious materials.
The charter commission outlined the allegations for the most recent reprimand. The commission says the school has a shelf of Bibles, used photocopies of the Bible for an assignment, and school officials visited an Arizona school to observe how it used the Bible. The commission also says the school's curriculum shows it plans to use the Bible, the Qur'an and the Book of Mormon.
Nampa Classical Academy board chairman Mike Moffett addressed the issue during a school board meeting Monday night. "We were asked again if we were using them. We are not, but that will soon change. And based on the intent to use and what they perceive that we are using already, they issued a notice of defect for the use of religious texts and attorneys will be dealing with that," Mike Moffett said.
The state says of the school's five warnings, two have been resolved. The school has until mid-December to submit a plan of action to correct the other three. In that plan, school leaders must also present a complete budget. If that is not done, the state could begin the lengthy process of revoking the school's charter.
