The Texas House of Representatives voted 82-46 to require the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms across the state.
The May 25 vote followed days of debate and was passed with an amendment requiring the state, not school districts, to pay legal expenses for any lawsuits generated by the law.
The Texas Senate passed the measure 20-11 in March in a straight party-line vote. If senators grant final approval to the House version, the measure will go to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign the law that would go into effect in the 2025-26 school year.
In the House, a few Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting for the bill.
“Democratic lawmakers offered a string of 15 amendments, which seemed designed as much as anything to push Republicans into acknowledging that the bill was meant to enshrine an explicitly Christian worldview in Texas classrooms,” reported Texas Public Media. “Republicans repeatedly shut down any discussion of the proposed amendments, several times using a parliamentary tool known as a point of order even before the Democratic speaker was able to begin explaining his or her amendment.”
Phil King
Senate Bill 10 was sponsored by Republican Sen. Phil King — a member of Trinity Bible Church in Weatherford, Texas — and requires Ten Commandments displays of no less than 16-by-20 inches to be featured prominently in all Texas public school classrooms. Supporters in the Republican-controlled Legislature claim the Scriptures are at the root of American history, law and culture.
“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,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. The bill was one of Patrick’s top priorities after a similar measure was passed by the Senate last year but languished in the House.
“It is incumbent on all of us to follow God’s law and I think we would all be better off if we did,” Republican Rep. Candy Noble of Lucas said during the House debate, Texas Tribune reported.
According to the Tribune, the bill initially passed the House 88-49 on May 24 — the Jewish sabbath — which the decalogue forbids and which Democratic Rep. James Talarico used to highlight legislators’ hypocrisy.
Passage also came despite U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles’ 2024 ruling that a similar law passed in Louisiana is “unconstitutional on its face.”
“Thus, the question is not whether the biblical laws can ever be put on a poster; the issue is whether, as a matter of law, there is any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments in accordance with the minimum requirements of the Act,” deGravelles added. “In short, the court finds that there is not.”
Placing the displays in Texas classrooms “would make a mockery” of the constitutional principle of church-state separation, the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said ahead of the House vote.
“Let’s be clear: Historically, the best way to protect religious liberty was to keep the government far away from religion. That’s why the separation of church and state — enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — has been an unimpeachable touchstone.”
Amanda Tyler
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Interfaith Alliance and Texas Impact joined in organizing a letter signed by 166 Texas faith leaders opposed to the bill.
“Both the U.S. and Texas constitutions guarantee our right, and the right of all Texans, to religious freedom. That freedom involves respecting the rights of individuals, parents and faith communities to make decisions about the teaching of sacred texts that inform our religious understandings and practices. Bills mandating the display of the Ten Commandments demean that freedom,” the letter said,
“The responsibility for religious education belongs to families, houses of worship, and other religious institutions — not the government. The government oversteps its authority when it dictates an official state-approved version of any religious text.”
BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler added faith is not something that can be forced on public school students. “And in America, we don’t need the government playing preacher. Texas lawmakers need to do the right thing and leave faith where it belongs: with the people.”