Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to sign Ten Commandments bill after Senate approval

NBC News

2 days ago

A Texas bill that would order the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms was advanced by the state Senate on Wednesday, sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after the House of Representatives passed an amended version Sunday.
The Senate previously passed the GOP-drafted Senate Bill 10 in March along party lines. Despite debate and attempts to delay the bill's progress in the House in recent days, a Democratic lawmaker's amendment that requires the state, rather than school districts, to defend any legal challenges to the law was approved on Sunday. Such a change forced the bill back to the Senate for approval with only days left in the current legislative session.
With that approval in place, Abbott, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill. His spokesman referred a request for comment to what Abbott posted on X earlier this month: "Let's get this bill to my desk. I'll make it law."
Texas, the second-largest state in the country with more than 5 million students enrolled in public schools, would follow Louisiana and most recently, Arkansas, which have their own requirements for the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
But like Louisiana, Texas could face a barrage of legal challenges over the law's constitutionality.
Louisiana has not fully implemented its legislation after a coalition of parents of different faiths filed a federal lawsuit just days after the bill was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican. A judge in November sided with those parents when he concluded the state had not offered "any constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments."
Louisiana officials appealed, but a ruling has not been issued.
Now, with other states passing their own laws, the arguments could eventually wind up again before the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1980 ruled that classroom displays of the Ten Commandments were unconstitutional.
But a wave of new laws and mandates in states, particularly in the South, having begun to test the bounds of what may be legally permissible when it comes to religion in public schools.
Under Texas' bill, all public elementary or secondary schools would have to "display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments." The displays would have to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and include the text of the Ten Commandments as written in the bill.
Once the bill is signed into law, schools "must accept any offer of privately donated" displays or may use district funds, starting in the 2025-26 school year.
The legislation does not have an enforcement mechanism, and it's unclear what might happen to schools or individual teachers who refuse to comply.
State Sen. Phil King, the lead author of the bill, has said he believes the legislation stands up to scrutiny following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found a former Washington state high school football coach had a right to pray on the field immediately after games. The ruling by the conservative-majority court took a different approach by examining "historical practices and understandings" to interpret whether the First Amendment was being violated.
"The legislation is in accord with the history and traditions of our state and nation," King previously said, adding that students will "appreciate the role of the Ten Commandments in our heritage."
In arguments against the bill during debate, state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat who is Christian, said the specific posting of the Ten Commandments would give the appearance that the state is favoring one religion over others to the detriment of non-Christian students. He also questioned if state lawmakers had ever broken any of the commandments themselves.
Other Democrats asked why parents and school districts could not have a choice in whether to allow the Ten Commandments in classrooms, when some Republicans have been vocal about wanting parents to decide what books and topics are permissible in schools.
The bill isn't the only religious-based one to win approval this legislative session, after Texas lawmakers passed legislation that would permit school districts to adopt policies allowing for a period of prayer in schools and reading of the Bible or "other religious text" with parental consent. Abbott is also expected to sign it into law.