Come September, every public school classroom will be required to display the Ten Commandments òòò½ÊÓƵ” part of a larger push in Texas and beyond to increase the role of religion in schools.
On Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, despite a federal court ruling that a similar Louisiana law violated a constitutionally required separation of church and state. In May, the proposal passed the Senate 28-3.
The bill preliminarily passed the House 88-49 on the Jewish Sabbath day. The Ten Commandments forbids work on that day, Rep. James Talarico noted in an effort to highlight legislative hypocrisy. The lower chamberòòò½ÊÓƵ™s initial approval came after more than two hours of debate and despite last-ditch Democratic efforts to water down the law, including giving school districts the opportunity to vote on the policy, and adding codes of ethics from different faiths into the bill.
The House passed the bill 82-46, but clarified in it that the state would be responsible for any legal fees if a school district were to be sued over the policy.
Sponsored by Sen. Phil King, a Republican from Weatherford, the bill requires every classroom to visibly display a poster sized at least 16 by 20 inches. The poster canòòò½ÊÓƵ™t include any text other than the language laid out in the bill, and no other similar posters may be displayed.
òòò½ÊÓƵœIt is incumbent on all of us to follow Godòòò½ÊÓƵ™s law and I think we would all be better off if we did,òòò½ÊÓƵ Rep. Candy Noble, a Republican from Lucas who is carrying the bill in the House, said during floor debate.
Supporters argue that the Ten Commandments and teachings of Christianity more generally are core to U.S. history, a message that has resurged in recent years as part of a broader national movement that considers the idea of church-state separation a myth.
That movement fueled Texasòòò½ÊÓƵ™ push to require schools display òòò½ÊÓƵœIn God We Trustòòò½ÊÓƵ signs if they were donated by a private foundation òòò½ÊÓƵ” signed into law in 2021. In 2024, the State Board of Education approved Bible-infused teaching materials.
This session, lawmakers have advanced bills that allow a prayer or religious study period in school, and one that would require teachers to use the terms òòò½ÊÓƵœAnno Dominiòòò½ÊÓƵ (AD) òòò½ÊÓƵ” Latin for òòò½ÊÓƵœin the year of the Lord,òòò½ÊÓƵ and òòò½ÊÓƵœBefore Christòòò½ÊÓƵ (BC) when expressing dates.
Proponents of Kingòòò½ÊÓƵ™s bill also say making the Ten Commandments more prominent in schools will combat what movement leaders see as a generations-long moral decline.
Texas is one of 16 states where lawmakers have pursued the Ten Commandments bills.
Although the Supreme Court ruled against a similar Kentucky law in 1980, supporters in Texas and beyond find support in the current makeup of the courtòòò½ÊÓƵ™s justices and in the 2019 Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which found a football coach could lead prayers on the field after games.
But Robert Tuttle, a professor of religion and law at George Washington University, said allowing a private individual to pray òòò½ÊÓƵ” as in the Kennedy case òòò½ÊÓƵ” is different from displaying the Ten Commandments in the classroom.
Last June, a federal court struck down a Louisiana law requiring all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments òòò½ÊÓƵ” the first state this decade to pass such a law. The state is appealing the decision.
òòò½ÊÓƵœThe constant presence of a sacred text in the room with them is effectively telling them, òòò½ÊÓƵ˜Hey, these are things you should read and obey,òòò½ÊÓƵ™òòò½ÊÓƵ Tuttle said. òòò½ÊÓƵœThat's not the state's job òòò½ÊÓƵ” to do religious instruction.òòò½ÊÓƵ
He also said that despite the Supreme Court trending in a more conservative direction, its decision Thursday that leaves in place a prohibition on the establishment of a religious charter school in Oklahoma could mean that the Court, for now, is not throwing out that principle.
During Texas legislative committee hearings, opponents from free speech and civil rights groups òòò½ÊÓƵ” some of whom waited till 4 a.m. to testify òòò½ÊÓƵ” said the policy could send a message of exclusion to students of other faiths or those who donòòò½ÊÓƵ™t practice a religion. They also said the commandments were irrelevant to classes like math, and could prompt questions that were not age-appropriate, such as what adultery means.
The teachers union said it opposes the bill because members believe it violates the principle of separation of church and state.
òòò½ÊÓƵœPublic schools are not supposed to be Sunday school,òòò½ÊÓƵ said spokesperson Clay Robison.
Talarico òòò½ÊÓƵ” who is studying to become a minister òòò½ÊÓƵ” raised concerns in House floor discussions that the First Amendment forbids imposing a state-sponsored religion.
òòò½ÊÓƵœMy faith means more to me than anything, but I don't believe the government should be forcing religion onto any American citizen, especially our children,òòò½ÊÓƵ the Austin lawmaker told the Tribune. òòò½ÊÓƵœI'm a Christian who firmly believes in the separation of church and state.òòò½ÊÓƵ
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