Idaho Bill Would Force Kids to Read Atlas Shrugged

But lawmaker says it's symbolic gesture, won't push for passage
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 6, 2013 4:10 PM CST
Idaho Bill Would Force Kids to Read Atlas Shrugged
A woman reads "Atlas Shrugged" in this file photo.   (Flickr)

Quick, what's the most important work in the English language, the one you absolutely should not be able to graduate high school without a thorough knowledge of? If you said Atlas Shrugged, then you have a lot in common with Idaho state Sen. John Goedde, who has introduced a bill that would force kids to pass a test on Ayn Rand's conservative fable before graduating, the Spokesman-Review reports.

Goedde formally introduced the bill on a voice vote yesterday, but he says he doesn't intend to actually push for its passage or even hold a hearing on it. He says he was just trying to send a message to the Board of Education, which he feels has been loosening its standards. "It was a shot over their bow just to let them know that there's another way to adopt high school graduation requirements," he says. Why Atlas Shrugged? "That book made my son a Republican," he said to laughter. (More Ayn Rand stories.)

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