Idaho's governor C. L. "Butch" Otter (R) vetoed Senate Bill 1342 (PDF) on April 5, 2016. The bill, passed by both chambers of the Idaho legislature, would have permitted the use of religious texts, including the Bible, "in Idaho public schools for reference to further the study" of various topics. In his veto message, Otter expressed (PDF) respect and appreciation for the Bible, but insisted that Senate Bill 1342 violated the Idaho Constitution.
As NCSE previously reported, a previous version of the bill, Senate Bill 1321 (PDF), which specifically included the topics of astronomy, biology, and geology, was criticized in the Senate State Affairs Committee as potentially opening the classroom door to creationism, which would be unconstitutional. The senator who proposed the bill, Sheryl Nuxoll (R-District 7), agreed to the removal of those topics, and the bill proceeded under the new designation of Senate Bill 1342.
Despite the removal of the specific references to scientific topics, there was still concern that Senate Bill 1342 would encourage the teaching of creationism. In a March 14, 2016, blog post, for example, the ACLU's Heather L. Weaver warned, "As amended, the bill still allows for teachers to use the Bible in 'any topics of study' where a teacher personally believes it is 'useful or relevant,' including science classes" (emphasis in original).