Texas bill requiring Ten Commandments in public schools headed to governor’s desk

A bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom in Texas cleared a key legislative hurdle Sunday and is poised to go to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval.

The state House of Representatives passed a version of the Ten Commandments bill in a 82-46 vote following a week of debate and delay, when Democratic lawmakers attempted to introduce amendments. Those amendments, including allowing individual school districts to opt in and for the Ten Commandments to be in different languages, were voted down by a Republican majority.

Abbott’s office did not immediately comment about its passage, but the Republican governor is expected to sign it into law after the state Senate approved its version of the legislation in March on a 20-11 party-line vote.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had previously said that the success of the bill, known as SB 10, was among his priorities for the current session, which ends next month, after similar legislation failed in 2023 because of time constraints.

“By placing the Ten Commandments in our public school classrooms, we ensure our students receive the same foundational moral compass as our state and country’s forefathers,” Patrick said.

Still, Texas’ Ten Commandments legislation is likely to face constitutional opposition as it has in Louisiana, where a GOP-drafted law was signed last year by Gov. Jeff Landry and was quickly challenged by a coalition of parents of different religious beliefs.

Under Texas’ bill, all public elementary or secondary schools must “display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.” The displays must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, and include the text of the Ten Commandments as written in the bill.

Once signed into law, schools “must accept any offer of privately donated” displays or may use district funds, starting in the 2025-26 school year.

The legislation does not have an enforcement mechanism, and it’s unclear what may happen to schools or individual teachers who refuse to comply. According to a state House committee analysis, the bill itself also “does not expressly create a criminal offense.”

State Sen. Phil King, the lead author of the bill, previously said he was introducing the legislation because “the Ten Commandments are part of our Texas and American story.”

But state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat who is Christian, objected to the bill this week during an earlier vote, saying a display of such religious text may feel exclusionary to non-Christian students.

“Forcing our religion down their throats is not love,” Talarico said.

With Louisiana and most recently Arkansas mandating the Ten Commandments in public schools, legal arguments over such laws could eventually wind up again before the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1980 ruled that classroom displays of the Ten Commandments were unconstitutional.

Louisiana has not fully implemented its law as officials await a federal appeals court ruling on its constitutionality. In November, a lower court judge concluded the state had not offered “any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments.”

Meanwhile, Texas House lawmakers on Friday approved another religion-based bill that would permit school districts to adopt policies allowing for a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or “other religious text” with parental consent. Abbott is also expected to sign it into law.

Emily Witt, a spokeswoman for the Texas Freedom Network, a grassroots group that advocates for religious freedom, said the wave of conservative-leaning legislation across Texas and other states is part of a wider “coordinated strategy” to infuse the Bible in public school education.

“The message this sends to kids is that they’re being told their religion doesn’t matter and isn’t as important as this one,” Witt said. “We worry that leads to bullying and otherism — all things in public schools that we try to prevent.”