Texas advances bills on prayer, Ten Commandments in school

The Texas State Senate approved a measure on Tuesday that would allow public schools periods of prayer and Bible study with a 23-7 vote. State senators also tentatively approved a separate bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom with a 20-10 vote. Both measures now will move to the state House for further discussion and approval.

Isn’t allowing sanctioned Bible reading in public schools forcing religion on students? Senate Bill 11 would establish prayer as allowed, but not mandatory. Students and teachers would choose whether to participate, according to a news release from the state Senate. The bill would allow students to pray and read texts from any religion, not just Christianity. Prayer and Bible studies would have to be held away from those who did not consent and could not be considered instructional time, according to the bill.

How did Senators debate about displaying the Ten Commandments? Legislators offered varying opinions on the bill to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public K-12 classroom. American morality is based on the Ten Commandments and children should be unapologetically taught that history, said state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. However, state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said that posting the Ten Commandments would infringe on a parent’s right to direct their child’s spiritual development. The bill does not represent the many faiths practiced in Texas and may ultimately cause more division within schools, he argued.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on Louisiana enacting a similar bill on displaying the Ten Commandments last year.