Texas bill would protect teachers’ right to pray at work

The Texas State Senate Committee on State Affairs on Monday heard testimony on a bill that would safeguard the rights of public and charter school employees to express their faith while on duty. State Sen. Tan Parker introduced the measure to codify the rights of school staff to engage in religious speech or prayer during their working hours. In the bill, Parker referenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. Justices in 2022 upheld high school football coach Joe Kennedy’s right to pray on the field after games.

Director of the Texas Faith & Freedom Coalition Donald Gardner testified before senators in favor of the bill. The measure would not compel people to participate in religious speech, he said—rather, it would protect school employees’ freedom of religion as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

Are there any other religious freedom bills making their way through the state legislature? The state Senate Committee on Education K-16 on Tuesday advanced two bills aimed at increasing the role of faith in schools.

• Senate Bill 10 would require a poster of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public primary and secondary classroom. Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford wrote the bill to remind students of the importance of the commandments and their influence on state and federal law.

• Senate Bill 11 would allow school districts to designate a time during the day for prayer and Bible reading. Each individual school board would have to vote to incorporate the prayer time, parents would have to opt their children in, and it could not interfere with instruction time.

Lawmakers in 2023 proposed nearly identical bills and the Senate passed the measures before they failed to gain a full vote in the House of Representatives. The bills are on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s short list of legislative priorities for this year.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report about a legal challenge to Louisiana’s Ten Commandments mandate.