SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg Area board of education got an earful from parents Monday night after the district made changes to the second grade's social studies program.
Those changes were the removal of a section that teaches those children about Asian cultures by exploring Asia's religions, namely Buddhism and Hinduism.
District officials say they had received complaints from some parents about the religious tinge of the lesson plan, saying it was not appropriate for the children to be learning about world religions at a time when they are still learning about their own faith.
District officials agreed with those parents, sending a letter out recently saying the class unit would not be taught.
The parents who wanted things to stay the same made their displeasure known to the board.
"Sending a letter out to our parents citing the word religion or excessive entanglement when it came to Asian culture is outrageous," parent Renee Kelly said.
"If the federal government agrees that this is appropriate for second grade public school students, why are our students not smart enough to do it too? " Jamie Nupp added.
There was no scheduled action on the agenda on this topic, and it remained unclear whether the board would revisit it later.