Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is pledging to pass a bill requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, days after a similar Louisiana measure became law. Patrick’s announcement follows his criticism of Texas state House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, for blocking a previous bill that aimed to mandate the Ten Commandments’ display in schools. Patrick, in a social media post, declared his intention to reintroduce the measure. “SB 1515 will bring back this historical tradition of recognizing America’s heritage, and remind students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation of American and Texas law: the Ten Commandments,” Patrick wrote on X. “Putting the Ten Commandments back into our schools was obviously not a priority for Dade Phelan.” The proposed Texas bill would require public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a requirement currently absent in the state. Patrick’s push comes amid a broader trend among Republican lawmakers to promote religious displays in public spaces. Louisiana recently became the first state to mandate the Ten Commandments’ display in every public school classroom, a move met with opposition from civil rights groups. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights organizations have announced their intention to challenge the Louisiana law, arguing that it violates the separation of church and state enshrined in the First Amendment. Richard W. Garnett, a Notre Dame Law School professor specializing in church-state issues, acknowledged the likelihood of similar legislation in other states while cautioning about the legal uncertainties surrounding such measures. “It remains to be seen whether these kinds of measures are permissible,” Garnett told Fox News Digital. “The Supreme Court’s doctrine has changed in some areas, but it hasn’t changed in all areas.” A key legal question centers around whether a Ten Commandments display in a classroom setting could exert undue pressure on students, particularly given their young age. Critics of such laws argue that the United States is a religiously diverse nation and that public schools, overseen by the government, must cater to a pluralistic society. In a joint statement opposing the Louisiana law, the ACLU and other civil rights groups emphasized the importance of religious freedom as a personal choice. “The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government,” the statement read. “Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools.”
Texas Lt. Gov. Pushes for Ten Commandments in Schools After Louisiana Law
