Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into more than two dozen public school districts across the state to determine whether they are complying with state laws concerning the display of the Ten Commandments and school prayer policies.
The inquiry centers on Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 11, two measures enacted last year that address religious expression in Texas public schools. SB 10 requires public schools to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments that meet state-mandated formatting and size standards, while SB 11 requires local school boards to vote on whether to establish designated times during the school day for prayer and the reading of the Bible or other religious materials.
Paxton’s office has requested records from the districts showing whether school boards held votes related to SB 11 and whether campuses are complying with the Ten Commandments display requirement under SB 10.
“I will always fight for students’ fundamental right to pray in our schools and work to ensure that Texas kids are able to learn from the Ten Commandments daily,” Paxton said in a statement.
“Texas school districts must comply with Texas law by displaying the Ten Commandments and taking a school board vote regarding the implementation of prayer time in schools. I will never stop defending our students’ religious freedom and the moral foundation of our nation.”
According to the attorney general’s office, the investigation includes school districts in Alamo Heights, North East, Austin, Cypress-Fairbanks, Lackland, Lake Travis, Fort Bend, Houston, Dripping Springs, Plano, Northside, Conroe, Galveston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Wichita Falls, McAllen, Amarillo, El Paso, Corpus Christi, United, Texarkana, Victoria, Waco, Abilene, San Angelo, Brownsville and Beaumont. Officials noted that several of the districts were previously involved in legal disputes concerning SB 10.
A spokesperson for the Conroe Independent School District told The Christian Post that the district initially followed SB 10 requirements before removing the Ten Commandments posters in response to a court order tied to ongoing litigation. The spokesperson also noted that the district’s board voted in February against adopting the SB 11 prayer-time resolution.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Galveston Independent School District said the latest court ruling regarding SB 10 was issued after the district’s most recent board meeting and that the matter is expected to be considered during the board’s May 20 meeting.
