Last summer, Senate Bill 10 was passed into law in Texas, requiring a posted copy of the Bible’s Ten Commandments (at least 16×20 inches) to be in a conspicuous place of every classroom.
The Texas government has overstepped in the implementation of this Bill. With these posters up in classrooms and in the faces of the students, it almost sends a message to students that “Christianity is the above all religion.” The government cannot create any laws favoring one religion over another. If they really wanted to educate and highlight good morals, why don’t they have other religious texts like the Quran or the Torah? Why is it just text from the Bible?
The Bill has faced a lot of pushback from some government officials as well as parents. The Bill’s original date of implementation began September 1, 2025, but it was blocked by a San Antonio judge in 11 districts. According to The New York Times, the Bill was also under review by federal court due to lawsuits, but it was eventually passed for all Texas school districts in January.
The 1st Amendment directly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This can relate to schools by the saying “separation of church and state,” in which supporters of the bill argue that this promotes “good morals in classrooms.” The people in support of this Bill say that the Ten Commandments and the Bible itself is deeply rooted in American history.
Texas government official Ken Paxton says that he will “proudly defend districts that comply with SB 10 against any legal challenges from the Left.” Paxton also said that “these commandments form a nation built on law and ordered liberty,” which is not an entirely false statement, but it is not entirely true either. It does not mean America is a Christian country nor is it a good reason that we should have the Ten Commandments in our classrooms.
With this Bill in effect, Texas lawmakers are now pushing how far they can go with putting religion in schools. They’ve now introduced a new bill – Senate Bill 11, which was passed last year. According to Texas AFT, Texas school districts have to vote whether to implement a “period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious texts” during the school day in schools by March 1, 2026. Humble ISD ultimately voted against the implementation of the Bill.
Texas lawmakers are getting out of hand, demonstrated by Senate Bill 10 and 11. Now, this begs an important question; how far will these lawmakers go to basically have “state-sponsored” religion in public schools?
