Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a newly signed law, making it the largest state to impose such a mandate.
Governor Greg Abbott announced Saturday that he signed the bill, which is expected to face legal challenges from critics who argue it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
A similar law in Louisiana was recently blocked by a federal appeals court for being unconstitutional, and Arkansas also faces a similar legal challenge.
The Texas measure passed easily in the Republican-led state legislature, concluding its session on June 2.
Republican state representative Candy Noble, a co-sponsor, said the bill aims to highlight what is historically significant to the nation’s educational and judicial foundations.
Abbott also signed another bill permitting school districts to offer students and staff a voluntary daily period for prayer or reading religious texts during school hours.
These Ten Commandments laws are part of broader efforts, primarily in conservative states, to incorporate religion into public education.
The Texas law requires public schools to display a 16-by-20-inch framed or poster copy of a specific English version of the Ten Commandments, despite variations in translations and interpretations across different faiths and denominations.
Supporters argue the Ten Commandments are fundamental to the U.S. judicial and educational systems and deserve to be displayed. Opponents, including some Christian and other religious leaders, contend that such measures infringe upon religious freedom and do not reflect the beliefs of all students.
A letter signed by numerous Christian and Jewish leaders pointed out that Texas’ diverse student body includes many from faiths unconnected to the Ten Commandments.
Texas has nearly 6 million students enrolled in approximately 9,100 public schools.
In 2005, Abbott, then state attorney general, successfully defended a Ten Commandments monument on Texas Capitol grounds before the Supreme Court.
Louisiana’s similar law has been twice ruled unconstitutional by federal courts, including the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also has jurisdiction over Texas.
Texas Attorney General Liz Murrell said she plans to appeal any such rulings and is prepared to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
