Texas bill would put Ten Commandments in school classrooms
391223 04: A 42-year-old Ten Commandments sculpture is on display in front of city hall June 27, 2001 in Grand Junction, CO. The sculpture became a target of controversy betweem the ACLU and the Christian Coalition''s American Center for Law and Just
A bill prefilled in the Texas House for the upcoming session would require schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Incoming representative Mike Olcott (R- Parker County) filed H.B. 1009 last month.
If passed, the bill would require schools to post a "durable poster or framed copy" of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
The displayed copies would need to be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and "in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom."
The bill would allow schools that do not have posters that meet the requirements to accept donations or use public funds to replace them.
An almost identical bill was filed in the state Senate last year.
The passed the Senate with no Democrats voting yes.
It was then sent to the House where it made it out of committee but was not voted on.
In June, Louisiana became the first state to require the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
According to the Associated Press, Louisana did not use state funds for the poster. They were paid for by private donations.
Louisiana's law also allowed for the display of other items in K-12 schools such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance.
Critics of the Louisiana law said it keeps children with different beliefs from feeling safe and getting an equal education.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can "make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but rather served a plainly religious purpose.