Senate Tries Again on Ten Commandments Posters in Schools

After an unsuccessful attempt last session, Texas Republicans lawmakers are mounting another campaign to try to mandate that Texas public schools display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee will discuss Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford.

It is nearly identical to King’s Senate Bill 1515, which last session passed out of the Senate and made it out of committee in the House but never went to a second or third reading in that chamber.

But where King was the sole author of SB 1515 when he filed it in 2023, SB 10 boasts the coauthorship of every single Republican in the Senate, nearly two-thirds of the chamber.

Under King’s new proposal, all public elementary and secondary schools would need to display “a durable poster or framed copy” of the Ten Commandments “in a conspicuous place” in the classroom “in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom in which the poster or framed copy is displayed.”

The posters would need to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, and would only show the Ten Commandments. SB 10 prescribes the language that the posters would need to have, using the language of the “King James” English translation of the bible.

Schools would be allowed, but not required, to use public money to buy the posters. They also could accept private donations of the posters.

Since SB 1515 failed in 2023, numerous other states have rushed to pass similar legislation. Last year, Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a bill that similarly mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. In the wake of that action, Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last summer vowed to pass the bill this session in a post on X.

A district judge five months ago ruled that Louisiana’s law was “unconstitutional on its face,” and froze the law for the school districts that filed suit against the state.  

The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, or upon the adjournment of either of the committees set to convene at 8 a.m. The committee will meet in the Capitol extension in room E1.028.