Should the teachings of the Church of Scientology shape the integrity and moral rectitude of children in Illinois’ public schools? A resolution before the state’s House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee this week poses that very question.

House Resolution 254 would endorse three options for character education in the state’s public school system, including Good Choices, a curriculum based on a code of conduct created by Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard.

According to the resolution, the Good Choices program would satisfy the state school code that states “every public school teacher shall teach … respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, and citizenship, in order to raise pupils’ honesty, kindness, justice, discipline, respect for others and moral courage for the purpose of lessening crime and raising the standard of good character.”

The code of conduct, titled “The Way to Happiness,” offers 21 precepts for a happier life, including many principles that resemble the 10 Commandments, the Golden Rule and advice from Mom.

State Rep. Jerry Mitchell (R-Sterling), a spokesman for the state’s House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, said he had no problem with the common sense content of the book until he turned to the back page, which listed Hubbard as the author.

The person campaigning for the curriculum also raises eyebrows, he said. Actress Nancy Cartwright, the voice of the mischieveous and ribald Bart Simpson and a Scientologist, will lobby the panel on Wednesday.

The resolution’s sponsor, State Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago), said he never intended to promote Scientology. He was assured that the Hubbard attribution simply met a copyright requirement. He also said he couldn’t resist the novely of a celebrity endorsement. After all Simpson is from Springfield of all places.

“We look for an opportunity to lighten it up a bit,” Burke said. “But sometimes all that glitters is not gold. I’m disappointed it’s taken this turn.”

But “levity has turned to consternation,” Mitchell said. The program’s ties to the Church of Scientology risks violating the “strong separation of church and state in our constitution,” he said. He would knock a code of conduct authored by Pope John Paul II as much as the one authored by Hubbard, he said.

"I’m not arguing with their beliefs,” Mitchell said. “When the man’s name is on the back of the book, when you have Nancy Cartwright coming to lobby for it, I can’t separate those people from this program [from whom] kids, through the Internet, may seek out guidance and leadership. I’m not sure the public schools should be in the business of allowing that kind of relationship to be fostered.”

Burke said he and Mitchell have agreed that if the resolution clears the committee on Wednesday an amendment will strip all references to Cartwright’s organization and Hubbard’s book. Even so, the curriculum will still be an option that teachers can choose.

“It’s totally innocuous, basic, good citizenship stuff,” Burke said.

Find a comprehensive account of the debate in Springfield today on the Clout Street blog.

What do you think? Should the state promote character education principles espoused by a church? Does the fact that the precepts under consideration come from the Church of Scientology make a difference?