Bill Text: TX HB1009 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [HB1009 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB1009-Introduced.html
| By: Olcott | H.B. No. 1009 | |
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| relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 1.0041 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 1.0041. DISPLAY OF TEN COMMANDMENTS. (a) A public | ||
| elementary or secondary school shall display in a conspicuous place | ||
| in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of | ||
| the Ten Commandments that meets the requirements of Subsection (b). | ||
| (b) A poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments | ||
| described by Subsection (a) must: | ||
| (1) include the text of the Ten Commandments as | ||
| provided by Subsection (c) in a size and typeface that is legible to | ||
| a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom in which | ||
| the poster or framed copy is displayed; and | ||
| (2) be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall. | ||
| (c) The text of the poster or framed copy of the Ten | ||
| Commandments described by Subsection (a) must read as follows: | ||
| "The Ten Commandments | ||
| I AM the LORD thy God. | ||
| Thou shalt have no other gods before me. | ||
| Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images. | ||
| Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. | ||
| Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. | ||
| Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the | ||
| land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. | ||
| Thou shalt not kill. | ||
| Thou shalt not commit adultery. | ||
| Thou shalt not steal. | ||
| Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. | ||
| Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. | ||
| Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor | ||
| his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy | ||
| neighbor's." | ||
| (d) A public elementary or secondary school in which each | ||
| classroom does not include a poster or framed copy of the Ten | ||
| Commandments as required by Subsection (a) must: | ||
| (1) accept any offer of a privately donated poster or | ||
| framed copy of the Ten Commandments provided that the poster or | ||
| copy: | ||
| (A) meets the requirements of Subsection (b); and | ||
| (B) does not contain any additional content; and | ||
| (2) display the poster or framed copy as specified in | ||
| Subsection (a). | ||
| (e) If a public elementary or secondary school has a poster | ||
| or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom that does | ||
| not meet the requirements of Subsection (b), the school may replace | ||
| the posters or copies with posters or copies that meet the | ||
| requirements of Subsection (b) using public funds or by accepting a | ||
| private donation. | ||
| (f) A public elementary or secondary school must offer a | ||
| poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments described by | ||
| Subsection (a) in the school's possession that is not needed for | ||
| display in a classroom as a donation to another public elementary or | ||
| secondary school. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 | ||
| school year. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
