Silence can mean more than spoken words.

Legislators need to remember that when they consider a moment of silence bill presented to the Iowa House of Representatives last week.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View and Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, outlined a plan for school children to spend the first minute of every school day in silence. The bill would make set aside a mandatory 60 seconds when students could pray, meditate or gather their thoughts at the beginning of each day. Even doing homework wouldn’t be allowed during this time.

But the question is, why do elementary school children need to pause before starting their classes?

A supporter of the bill, House Speaker Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, feels that the bill is important because children may not have personal time in their day for reflection.

“Now they will,” said Dan Fogleman, communications director for Siegrist.

Why would someone believe that children live such hectic lives that they need mandatory moments of silence in school? Children do have time for daily reflection before going to school. They could do it while munching on Cheerios or instead of watching cartoons in the morning, if those students wish to do so. The point is that parents are the ones who should be designating daily reflections, not state representatives. Republicans defended the bill, saying that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it is important to reflect daily on what it means to be American. And apparently, the hours between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. are the only acceptable hours children can reflect on what it means to be an American.

In all actuality, this bill is nothing more than another attempt to insert religion into public schools, this time being piggy-backed on the emotions created in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

This opportunistic move is not unlike a moment of silence bill passed in Virginia in 2000. In fact, Iowa’s version is modeled after the Virginia bill.

Rep. Carroll contends the bill is not about religion, saying the bill was designed to help students reflect on current events and “quiet their minds in preparation of the day ahead.”

But if that is the case, why is the concern about students doing homework during the moment being discussed? If the moment is truly to be allowed for anything the children want, then why can’t the children do their homework during this time? Supporters argue that religion has nothing to do with the moment of silence. Legislators say the bill depends on how teachers implement the law, but teachers are not the ones to teach or promote religion, a likely result of such a law.

The buzzword in politics today is “Sept. 11.” It’s hard to argue against anything legislators say comes as a result of the attacks. But this is one move that shouldn’t be given a free ride.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell