DALLAS – Bills filed in the Texas Senate are once again trying to bring prayer and the Ten Commandments into public school classrooms.
The topics of prayer in school and displaying the Ten Commandments are once again before lawmakers in Austin.
This is the second time State. Sen. Phil King has pursued a Ten Commandments mandate.
It passed the Senate in the last session but failed in the House.
King also filed SB 11, which would allow students with parental c onsent to opt into a period of prayer and reading from the Bible.
Prayer in Texas Schools
What they’re saying:
“We spend so much time doing things. A short period of time for prayer over reading the Bible is not a bad thing,” said Rep. David Spiller, a Republican from Jacksboro.
State Rep. Spiller recently filed similar prayer legislation in the Texas House.
While there is nothing stopping students from saying a quiet prayer to themselves before taking a test or between classes, his bill allows for that time.
Spiller’s bill would allow school districts to vote on having a period of prayer for students and staff.
Like King’s proposal in the Senate, students would have to opt in with a parent’s permission.
“If this is done like a zero period or some other period where you are not required to be, that might pass muster so long as that element of coercion is not present,” said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law.
Ten Commandments in the Classroom
What they’re saying:
Blackman said there could be a chance a Ten Commandments law would hold up in court.
“The case law in the Supreme Court has changed over the last several decades. Recently, Louisiana passed a law providing for the posting of the Ten Commandments. A federal court held that that was unconstitutional. That ruling is now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals,” he said.
Critics argue that a Ten Commandments requirement would create inequality for other religious groups.
However, Blackman said a 2022 case in the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in Washington could give Texas lawmakers who support the proposal more confidence.
“The court held that you can have prayer for a football game, and if students don’t like it, they can, you know, look away and avert their eyes,” Blackman said.
Spiller thinks the Ten Commandments are needed in the classroom.
“I hate to say it, but I think our public schools have gotten away. Many, not all, have gotten away from those important moral principles and values,” he said.
What’s next:
No hearing date has been set for either bill.
With the House leading more conservatively this session than it did the last session, the bills could clear both chambers.
But if they pass, they are certain to face legal challenges.
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