Boise » A public charter school is suing Idaho officials in a federal lawsuit, saying the state illegally barred use of the Bible as an instructional text.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund filed the lawsuit this week on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy in Boise's U.S. District Court.

The charter school is scheduled to open Tuesday and had planned to use the Bible as a primary source of teaching material, but not to teach religion.

The Idaho Public Charter School Commission said last month the school couldn't use the Bible because the state Constitution "expressly" limits use of religious texts.

The Alliance Defense Fund says the school has a statutory right to choose its own curriculum and the Bible shouldn't be singled out for censorship.