Hebrew charter campus gets OK to teach ... Hebrew!

Hebrew charter campus gets OK to teach ... Hebrew!
Church-state religion issue prompted temporary halt to instruction

Broward County's Hebrew-language charter school can again teach Hebrew -- finally.

The curriculum of the Ben Gamla Charter School in Hollywood was unanimously approved by the Broward School Board on Tuesday, ending debate over whether Hebrew can be taught without also promoting a religion. At the center of the debate: The taxpayer-funded school's curriculum.

The dispute came to a head last month when the School Board ordered the kindergarten through eighth grade school to temporarily stop teaching Hebrew out of concern the charter school would be in violation of the federally established separation between religion and government.

At first, Ben Gamla operators refused to stop teaching Hebrew, but relented a day later.

So for the past month, students studied reading, writing, arithmetic and Israeli geography but not Hebrew while an expert hired by the School Distict scrutinized the school's curriculum.

Tuesday's approval comes with stipulations. Ben Gamla must submit its lesson plans to the district each month for approval. District and Ben Gamla staff must also undergo religious studies. The courses are intended to help educators understand the difference between teaching students about religion and teaching in a way that promotes religion.