School officials in Orange County may be in favor of banning all religious materials from school grounds in an effort to keep a Satanic group from handing out its materials to students.
The debate was front-and-center at Thursday night's Orange County School Board workshop. The board signed off on the wording of a new policy to stop all outside organizations from distributing religious or political information to students, parents or employees on campus.
The group, Satanic Temple, wants to distribute its materials, including a coloring book titled "The Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities," inside classrooms.
The group say it's their way of protesting other religious materials that were being allowed in some Orange County schools.
The school district's current policy has allowed groups to hand out Bibles and even atheist materials at some high schools, but it was the Satanic coloring book that crossed the line for Orange County Public Schools officials.
The School Board is proposing an overall ban on outside groups bringing material into schools so they don't have to pick and choose between groups.
"It's becoming a growing issue because, previously, we had allowed outside groups to distribute those materials," said Bill Sublette, chairman of the Orange County School Board. "But some groups have decided to take advantage of that and willing to make a point by distributing Satanist materials or atheist materials."
Sublette said the School Board wants anything having to do with religion or politics to be taught at home.
The item is only a proposal, and the School Board is looking for the correct wording.
The School Board could vote on the issue on Feb. 10.