New Texas Bill Would Require Schools to Display 10 Commandments in Every Classroom

The state Senate Education Committee, of which King is a part, is expected to consider the bill this week.

Separation of church and state advocates argued that the bill violates that separation and enables schools to use taxpayer money to buy the posters.

According to ChurchLeaders.com, the proposed legislation orders schools to accept donations of 10 Commandment displays and offer any excess gifts to other schools. Schools are also permitted to use “public funds” to meet the requirement.

King explained in a statement that the bill became “legally feasible” due to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.

That decision overturned the “Lemon test under the Establishment Clause and instead provided a test of whether a governmental display of religious content comports with America’s history and tradition,” King wrote.

“Religious liberty was a bedrock of America’s founding,” King continued. “For the last several decades, expression of that liberty has been restricted. However, thanks to this recent SCOTUS opinion, those restrictions have been lifted.”

King asserted that his bill “reminds students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law—the Ten Commandments.”

On Monday, NBC News reporter Mike Hixenbaugh said in a tweet that King’s bill is one of two bills currently under consideration that would “chip away at the separation of church & state and promote Christianity in public schools.”

“Every K-12 public classroom in the state of Texas would be required to display these words:

‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant.’

Yes, please explain that line to a 6-year-old,” he wrote.

Two GOP bills to chip away at the separation of church & state and promote Christianity in public schools are getting a hearing in the Texas Senate this week.

One, SB 1515, would require schools to display the Ten Commandments (King James version) in EVERY classroom. 1/ pic.twitter.com/4afFW7eBNC

— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) April 3, 2023

According to Hixenbaugh, the second bill, SB 763, would allow schools to “replace counselors with chaplains.”

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Allan Swart

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.