A monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol in Austin provides the text of the Ten Commandments that will be posted in all public school classrooms. Courtesy Library of Congress

Starting this fall, all Texas public schools will be required to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) sponsored by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford and carried in the House by District 89 Rep. Candy Noble was approved 82-46 Sunday, May 25, and returned to the Senate for approval of an amendment by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin.

“The attorney general shall defend a public elementary or secondary school in a cause of action relating any claims arising out of a school’s compliance with this section,” the amendment said. “In a cause of action defended by the attorney general under this subsection, the state is liable for the expenses, costs, judgments, or settlements of the claims arising out of the representation. The attorney general may settle or compromise any and all claims under this subsection.”

The measure had passed the Senate 20-11 in March after Sen. Sarah Eckhard, D-Austin, failed to amend it by adding similar provisions for the Five Pillars of Islam and the Seven Core Tenets of Hinduism.

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are a foundational set of moral laws given by God in the Bible. They appear in two main passages: Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21.

According to the Bible, God delivered these commandments to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai after their escape from Egypt. They include directives about worshiping only God, keeping the Sabbath holy, honoring parents, as well including prohibitions against killing, theft, adultery, false witness and coveting.

Although originally given within the context of Jewish law, the Ten Commandments became central to Christian moral teaching.

“The displaying of the Ten Commandments in our Texas classrooms will bring back this historic tradition of recognizing America’s foundational heritage in both our educational and judicial systems,” said Noble, R-Lucas.

The Public Education Committee sent SB 10 to the House floor by a 10-4 vote. A similar bill passed the Senate two years ago, but did not receive a vote in the House.

Opponents had argued the display excluded students of other faiths or who did not practice a religion.

Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said, “Once the government can start dictating something like the true text of the Ten Commandments, what is to stop the government from dictating the true meaning of the gospel or the true meaning of the sacraments?”

As approved, the measure specifies that every public elementary or secondary school shall display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments, at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, in a conspicuous place in each classroom.

The font size and typeface must be legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom, the bill said.

According to SB 10, the text is from a monument donated and erected on the Texas Capitol grounds in 1961 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) of Texas.

The FOE sponsored hundreds of Ten Commandments monuments like the one in Austin as part of a campaign in the 1950s and 60s to promote moral values and patriotism.

The Austin monument was the subject of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case [Van Orden v. Perry]. Justices ruled 5-4 that the display did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Court considered the monument’s historical context and its placement among other secular monuments on the Capitol grounds.

The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) is a nonprofit fraternal organization founded in 1898 in Seattle, Washington, for community service and philanthropy. It has nearly 700,000 members across more than 1,400 Aeries (local chapters) in the United States and Canada.

The FOE played a major role in the establishment of Mother’s Day as a national holiday in the U.S. and championed social causes such as old-age pensions and Social Security before they were federal policy.

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By Bob Wieland | [email protected]