AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers who pass by the granite Ten Commandments monument outside the Texas State Capitol are still pushing to have the commandments displayed in every classroom.
In 2023, Senate Bill 1515 would’ve required public school classrooms to display copies of the Ten Commandments visible “in a size and typeface” that someone with average vision could see anywhere in the classroom.
However, the bill died after it failed to get a vote on the House floor before a critical deadline.
Now two House Republicans are resurrecting those efforts with House Bill 1009 and House Bill 1348. Both bills are nearly identical and call for the same poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments to stand 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall.
Both bills also state that schools have to accept privately donated posters or framed copies that meet the criteria while donating extra displays to other public schools if they’re not needed.
The bills are something Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticized House Speaker Dade Phelan for killing and vowed to bring back in January’s session.
“Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools,” Patrick wrote on social media. “SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill … This was inexcusable and unacceptable.”
Patrick’s attack on Phelan came after Louisiana signed a bill into law requiring that all public schools display the Ten Commandments by Jan. 1, 2025. Earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law, calling it “unconstitutional on its face.”
The 89th Texas Legislative session begins Jan. 14, 2025.