SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois lawmakers are considering legislation to allow prayer groups in public schools.

Illinois state Reps. Mary Flowers, LaShawn Ford and others sponsored HB 0165 to amend the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act to allow students to organize prayer groups at school, and authorize them to meet for prayer before school, during lunch, on recess or after school, OurQuadCities.com reports.

“If students want to pray at the flagpole, if students want to read their Bibles at the flagpole, if they want to meditate at the flagpole – so be it – as long as it’s non disruptive,” Flowers told the new site.

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The legislation would require student prayer groups to be run by students, and does not permit participation from school employees or outside religious leaders. Beyond prayer groups, the bill also allows students to pray silently at any time during the school day, NBC Chicago reports.

HB 0165 “is now picking up co-sponsors left and right and heading for a vote very soon,” Patheos.com reports.

The official wording, according to the news site:

“Student in the public schools may, during the school day, voluntarily engage in individually or collectively initiated, non-disruptive prayer or religious-based meetings, including without limitation prayer groups, BIBLE (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth) clubs, or ‘meet at the flagpole for prayer’ days (instead of providing that students in the public schools may voluntarily engage in individually initiated, non-disruptive prayer.)”

Patheos blogger Hermant Mehta thinks the legislation is pointless.

“What does that mean? In theory, it would let students meet during their free time to pray,” Mehta wrote. “Which they can already do. It was never in doubt.

“This is just an exercise in pretending to do something while actually accomplishing nothing. (Welcome to Illinois politics.)”

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OurQuadCities reports that Illinois schools are already required by law to hold a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day as an opportunity for students to pray.

Many folks who commented about the proposal online thought it was a good idea, especially in a time when groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and other atheist outfits routinely threaten schools with litigation over student prayer.

“As a Southern Baptist and Conservative Republican, I think prayer in school is fine as long as it is not lead or orchestrated by the teachers or administrators. It also shouldn’t disrupt scheduled learning time,” The__IcemaN posted to IJReview.com.

“But other than that, students of all religions and beliefs should feel free to pray together and discuss religious topics.”

Others think that allowing group prayer in school could significantly impact the Democratic Party.

“The day prayer is put back in schools is the day liberals will lose their power,” OldBut YoungMoney wrote. “If school prayer was put back into schooling and it remained there, for just a decade at least, it would be a nightmare for liberals who voted in 2012 to remove God from their platform.”

IJReview also points out that Illinois is not the first state to put prayer back in school.

“North Carolina’s Governor Pat McCrory signed legislation in the summer of 2014 which allows students in public schools to form religious clubs and lead volunteer prayer groups,” according to the site.