The bill proposed by Republicans in the Texas Senate would require the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools and allow schools to provide time for students to read the Bible, a religious saying that has been infused with state legislators in public education in the latest efforts of states.

"The Ten Commandments are part of our Texas and America story," Senator Phil King, the lead author of the bill, said in a statement Monday, the foundation of much of the history and laws of the United States. ”

Meanwhile, another bill was submitted that would allow school districts to adopt policies that would allow prayers and reading of the Bible or “other religious texts” with parental consent.

"Our schools are not godless areas," Mayes Middleton, author of the bill, said in a statement.

Previous efforts, the Ten Commandments bill, obtained in the Texas Legislature due to time constraints, failed in 2023, but Patrick said the main focus of this session, which began last month, will ensure the success of the legislation. . He also praised Louisiana, which was the first state to demand the exhibition of the Ten Commandments in all public schools and college classrooms last year.

Although Louisiana's law came into effect on January 1, its implementation remains in a dilemma after the federal court sued the Parents' League, believing that the claim interferes with its First Amendment rights to use any religious doctrine of their choice. Raise children. After Louisiana did not provide “any constitutional way to show the Ten Commandments,” it is expected that the federal court of appeals will rule on the matter.

King said he wanted to believe his bill was reviewed after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found a former Washington State High School football coach had the right to pray on the court immediately after the game was over. The conservative majority court ruling took a different approach by examining “historical practices and understandings” to explain whether a violation of the First Amendment.

"The legislation is in line with the history and traditions of our country and our country," King said, adding that students will "appreciate the role of the Ten Commandments in our legacy."

The Supreme Court previously raised the Ten Commandments in public schools in 1980, when it dismissed a Kentucky law unconstitutional.

Louisiana law and similar bills nationwide may once again push the issue to the Superior Court.

The Kentucky bill proposed last month would allow public schools to issue the Ten Commandments, but it is not a requirement. Ohio’s bill will require schools to choose from a list of nine historical documents to be displayed in classrooms, the Ten Commandments in the options. In Georgia, a bill proposed last week would force public primary and secondary schools to place copies of the Ten Commandments at certain locations, such as the main entrance of a building.

Similar Ten Commandments bills have been debated in recent weeks in Montana and North Dakota, while a South Dakota bill failed in the House of Representatives by a 37-to-31 vote.

Some Republican lawmakers are among those who oppose South Dakota’s bill that would force public schools to display the Ten Commandments, while Republican lawmakers believe the bill could have been stronger, while others are reluctant to cause such a task to the administration.

The American Civil Liberties Union is supporting parents’ lawsuits against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments Act, which he said in South Dakota’s refusal should serve as a “reality check” for bringing religious texts into public education.

"Public schools are not Sunday schools, and today's vote ensures that our public school classrooms will be all students regardless of their faith," Samantha Chapman of South Dakota Advocacy Manager ACLU said in a statement. How to be welcomed.”

Texas's Ten Commandments bill may face an easier path in the Republican-controlled legislature, as the bill was introduced earlier in the meeting and a higher priority among Republican leaders, After missing the deadline for 2023 to move forward. , Republicans published last month on X refer to the reintroduction bill: “Let’s do it.”

Still, Republicans can expect Democrats’ opposition, saying the state should focus on the full funding of public schools rather than the wedge problem.

"It's a split bill that distracts the real solution for Texans," said Senator Sarah Eckhardt. "Separation along religious lines remains ethnic Quarantine, that's what separates the church and the country."