FORT WORTH, Texas — A copy of the Ten Commandments could soon hang in every Texas public school classroom.

The Texas Legislature is close to passing the requirement authored by Sen. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who also filed a version of the bill during the 2023 legislative session.

“Very few documents in the history of Western civilization, and even more so in American history, have had a larger impact on our moral code, and our legal code and just our culture than the Ten Commandments,” King said in March, when the bill was in the Senate for a vote.

King told senators that for years the Ten Commandments were allowed to hang in classrooms until it was barred by a 1980 Supreme Court ruling. In 2022, a Supreme Court decision related to a Washington state high school football coach who lost his job for praying on the field cleared the way for the commandments to hang in classrooms again, King said.

A similar law in Louisiana is making its way through the appellate process after it was blocked by a federal judge that found the law “facially unconstitutional,” according to NBC News.

“I think it’s time for Texas to pass SB 10 to bring back the historical tradition of recognizing our national heritage and to help eliminate out of date legal thinking,” King said.

The bill advanced out of the House on May 25, after a series of failed amendments offered by Democrats the day before.

“Nothing is more deep rooted in the fabric of our American tradition of education than the Ten Commandments,” said Rep. Cathy Noble, a Republican from Lucas. “The very way we treat others as a society come from the principles found in the Ten Commandments. In these days of courtroom mayhem, it’s time to return to the truths to the fabric of educational system: Respect authority, respect others, don’t steal, tell the truth, don’t kill, keep your word.”

Among Democrats’ proposed changes to the bill was an amendment by Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie that would have let school boards vote on whether to opt out of the Ten Commandments’ display. Another amendment by Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth would have removed the phrase “nor his manservant, nor his maidservant” from the Ten Commandment signs.

Those terms refer to male and female slaves, Collier said.

“To have a document hang in the classrooms of our schools, our public schools, that references a time in history that was very hurtful and painful to many people will continue to perpetuate that hurt,” Collier said.

Rep. John Bryant, a Dallas Democrat, said the bill hands public schools “another irresolvable controversy that will cause our local schools one problem after another.” He also raised concerns that parents and teachers will have to explain adultery to children, since it’s mentioned in the Ten Commandments.

“Members of the House, the purpose of this bill is to put the Christian and Jewish religion into the public school classroom,” Bryant said. “Any assertion to the contrary is disingenuous and everyone in here knows that.”

Texas is home to many people who are not Christian or Jewish, Bryant said.

“We can’t go forward asking almost a third of our population to pay taxes to support our public institutions and our public schools, and then tell them, ‘But we’re going to put our version of religion on the walls of those schools, and yes, you must continue to pay your taxes to support these institutions,’” Bryant said.

The policy not sustainable, fair or American, he said.

“And this bill is not fair, and it’s not American, and it’s not Christian, and it’s not Jewish,” Bryant said. “It’s all about politics.”

What does Texas’ Ten Commandments law say?

The bill directs public elementary and secondary schools to hang a copy of the Biblical text in a “conspicuous place in each classroom of the school.”

The “durable poster” or framed copy of the Ten Commandments would need to include the text of the commandments written “a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.” The sign must be at least 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall.

Schools would be required to accept and display any donated copy of the Ten Commandments if there are classrooms without the commandments hanging. The donated copies would need to meet the text and size requirements stipulated by the proposed law and couldn’t contain any additional content.

The law would take effect for the 2025-26 school year, if signed by Abbott.

Following a May 25 amendment in the House by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat, the Texas attorney general must defend schools that are sued for following the law. The state would be liable for representation costs.

The Senate could accept the change and send the legislation to Abbott for approval or send the bill to a conference committee made up of House and Senate members to draft a compromise.

King, in a text message to the Star-Telegram, said he worked with the House on the amendment and thinks it’s a good addition to the bill.

What would the Ten Commandments sign say?

The legislation says the poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments would read as follows:

“The Ten Commandments

I AM the LORD thy God.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.

Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor ’s house.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor ’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

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