In the Senate K-16 Education Committee, lawmakers considered measures to place the Ten Commandments in classrooms and encourage prayer in government schools.
Senate Bill 10 by State Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) would require “a public elementary or secondary school” to “display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.”
“It is time for Texas to pass SB 10 to bring back the historical tradition of recognizing our national heritage,” said King. “SB 10 restores those liberties that were lost and reminds students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law [and] the Ten Commandments.”
King said he expects the measure to face legal challenges if passed into law but believes it is consistent with the Supreme Court’s most recent ruling.
State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) filed Senate Bill 11 to permit all public and charter school operators to adopt a policy requiring their schools to “provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text on each school day.”
“We are a nation and a state built on ‘In God We Trust’—that’s above our Senate dais, it’s above our House dais. We begin each day in prayer in both chambers, and our constitutional Free Exercise Clause is about religious liberties, and this bill expands religious liberties in our public schools,” said Middleton.
“Our schools are not God-free zones,” added Middleton, explaining that the measure creates a framework for school districts to approve a period of prayer or Bible reading.
Both issues have been deemed a priority by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Matt Krause, a former member of the House, testified in favor of both measures on behalf of First Liberty Institute. “A lot of times we talk about the status quo, and we think the status quo is no Ten Commandments in the classrooms. We think it’s no prayer in the classrooms. But really, that’s a pretty recent invention in our nation’s history and in the law.”
Krause called for Texas to return to what “the status quo was before this new status quo” by placing prayer and the Ten Commandments back in schools.
Football coach Joe Kennedy, whose case against Bremerton School District recently changed the legal landscape regarding the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, told the senators they have the opportunity to “enforce the freedoms that [are] guaranteed to us.”
Kennedy was fired by a high school for praying on the football field after games.
The U.S. Supreme Court held in his case that the Establishment Clause does not allow a government body to take a hostile view of religion when considering personal rights under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses.
It also replaced the Lemon test, which demanded the law have a secular purpose and not result in an excessive government entanglement with religion. Instead, the new Bremerton standard aims to evaluate government actions related to religion by examining their consistency with historical traditions and practices.
“There’s nothing that is guaranteeing players, and coaches, and principals, and superintendents, lunch ladies, all these people, they don’t have the opportunity to have a moment of prayer in public school,” testified Kennedy. “That’s just that’s un-American. That is not what the First Amendment says. This just rectifies that, and … give[s] us the right under the First Amendment for the free exercise [of religion].”
Andrew Hendrickson with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas testified against both measures.
He said the display of the Ten Commandments “usurps a parent’s constitutional right to decide what resources, what religious doctrine, if any, is instilled in their children, and it causes an unconstitutional religious coercion of students” since students are legally required to attend school.
With regard to prayer, Hendrickson said “decisions about when, where, and how to pray [should be] left to parents, students themselves, and faith communities.”
Brady Gray, president of Texas Family Project, testified in favor of both measures. “The Ten Commandments have long been recognized as a cornerstone of moral guidance, transcending religious boundaries to embody universal ethical standards.”
Gray said the display of the Ten Commandments would “provide students with a constant reminder of values such as discipline, honesty, respect, and responsibility.”
Both measures were approved in committee and will be sent to the full Senate for a vote.
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