School prayer bill advances in South Carolina legislature

A South Carolina bill sponsoring prayer in public schools is receiving a renewed push by state representatives after a compromise was reached on the role teachers would play.

In the original bill, introduced last spring in the state legislature, teachers would be allowed to lead their classrooms in prayer at the beginning of the school day. In the compromised version, teachers would introduce a moment of silence, during which students could pray. In both versions of the bill, students not wishing to participate could leave the classroom.

The bill has ten sponsors, seven of whom are Democrats. State Rep. Wendell Gilliard touted the compromise as success: