SB166INTRODUCED
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SB166
7DFKE2E-1
By Senators Kelley, Kitchens, Smitherman, Roberts, Butler,
Allen, Waggoner, Gudger, Livingston, Chesteen, Sessions,
Shelnutt, Weaver
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 12-Feb-25
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7 7DFKE2E-1 02/05/2025 GP (L)lg 2025-592
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First Read: 12-Feb-25
SYNOPSIS:
This bill would require each local board of
education and the governing body of each public
institution of higher education to display the Ten
Commandments and a context statement in a common area
of each school under its jurisdiction.
This bill would provide that no local board of
education or public institution of higher education is
required to use its funds to comply with the display
requirement and that it may accept donations to comply
with the display requirement.
This bill would require the State Department of
Education to identify and publicize free resources that
local boards of education may use to comply with the
display requirement.
This bill would require the State Board of
Education and the Alabama Commission on Higher
Education to adopt rules.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to public K-12 schools and public institutions
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Relating to public K-12 schools and public institutions
of higher education; to provide Legislative findings; to add
Sections 16-1-20.7 and 16-5-16 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to
require each local board of education and public institution
of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a
context statement in schools; to provide for the use of
donations to comply with the display requirement; to require
the State Department of Education to publicize free resources
available to schools to comply with this act; and to require
the State Board of Education and the Alabama Commission on
Higher Education to adopt rules.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(1) In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States
recognized in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 688 (2005)
that it is permissible to display the Ten Commandments on
government property.
(2) In 2018, Alabama voters overwhelmingly approved an
amendment to the state's constitution authorizing public
displays of the Ten Commandments. Section 3.02 of the
Constitution of Alabama of 2022, provides that "property
belonging to the state may be used to display the Ten
Commandments, and the right of a public school and public body
to display the Ten Commandments on property owned or
administrated by a public school or public body in this state
is not restrained or abridged."
(3) In 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States
further recognized in American Legion v. American Humanist
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further recognized in American Legion v. American Humanist
Association, 588 U.S. 29, 53 (2019) that the Ten Commandments
"have historical significance as one of the foundations of our
legal system." The court also ruled that the displaying of the
Ten Commandments on public property may have "multiple
purposes" such as "historical significance" and represent a
"common cultural heritage." Id, 588 U.S. at 54.
(4) Further, in 2022, the Supreme Court of the United
States in Kennedy v. Bremerton, 597 U.S. _ (2022) provided
that the Establishment Clause may be interpreted by "reference
to historical practices and understandings," and that it "does
not 'compel the government to purge from the public sphere'
anything an objective observer could reasonably infer endorses
or 'partakes of the religious.'"
(5) Recognizing the historical role of the Ten
Commandments accords with our nation's history and faithfully
reflects the understanding of the founders of our nation with
respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional
self-government.
(6) Including the Ten Commandments and other documents
generated during the formative years of our government in the
education of our children is part of our state and national
history, culture, and tradition. A document setting forth
historical truths about the foundation of American government
that includes the Ten Commandments is not only consistent with
historical practices, but also accurately reflects historical
understandings.
(7) The text of the Ten Commandments set forth in this
act is identical to the text of the Ten Commandments monument
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act is identical to the text of the Ten Commandments monument
that was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in
Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 688 (2005).
(8) The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was America's first
written constitution and made a covenant with Almighty God to
"form a civil body politic." This was the first purely
American document of self-government and affirmed the link
between civil society and God.
(9) The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a method
of admitting new states to the Union from the territory as the
country expanded to the Pacific. The Ordinance "extended the
fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty" to the
territories and stated that "[r]eligion, morality, and
knowledge, being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education
shall forever be encouraged."
(10) It is the intent of the Legislature to apply the
decision set forth by the Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry
to continue this rich tradition and ensure that the students
in our public schools may understand and appreciate the
foundational documents of our state and national government.
(11) The Supreme Court of the United States
acknowledged that the Ten Commandments may be displayed on
local government property when a private donation is made for
the purchase of the historical monument. Pleasant Grove City,
Utah v. Summum, 555 U.S. 460 (2006).
(12) It is the intent of the Legislature that this act
does not create an unfunded mandate on any public school
governing authority. Local boards of education are encouraged
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governing authority. Local boards of education are encouraged
to use documents that are printed and made available to the
schools free of charge.
Section 2. Section 16-1-20.7 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
ยง16-1-20.7
(a) No later than January 1, 2026, each local board of
education shall display the Ten Commandments in each school
under its jurisdiction. The display must be placed in an entry
way or other common area in the school, such as the school
library. The nature of the display shall be determined by each
local board of education, with the minimum requirement that
the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a poster or framed
document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches. The text of
the Ten Commandments shall be the central focus of the poster
or framed document and shall be printed in a large, easily
readable font.
(b)(1) The text displayed pursuant to subsection (a)
shall 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.
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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."
(2) The Ten Commandments shall be displayed with the
following context statement:
"The History of the Ten Commandments in American Public
Education
The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American
public education for almost three centuries. Around the year
1688, The New England Primer became the first published
American textbook and was the equivalent of a first grade
reader. The New England Primer was used in public schools
throughout the United States for more than 150 years to teach
Americans to read and contained more than 40 questions about
the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were also included in public
school textbooks published by educator William McGuffey, a
noted university president and professor. A version of his
famous McGuffey Readers was written in the early 1800s and
became one of the most popular textbooks in the history of
American education, selling more than 100 million copies.
Copies of the McGuffey Readers are still available today.
The Ten Commandments also appeared in textbooks
published by Noah Webster which were widely used in American
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published by Noah Webster which were widely used in American
public schools along with America's first comprehensive
dictionary that Webster also published. His textbook, The
American Spelling Book, contained the Ten Commandments and
sold more than 100 million copies for use by public school
children all across the nation and was still available for use
in American public schools in the year 1975."
(c) A local board of education may also display the
Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the
Northwest Ordinance along with the Ten Commandments.
(d) This section does not require a local board of
education to spend its funds to purchase the displays required
by this section. In order to fund the displays free of charge,
a local board of education may accept donated funds to
purchase the displays or may accept donated displays.
(e) The State Department of Education shall identify
appropriate resources for local boards of education to comply
with this section free of charge. Once identified, the
department shall list the free resources on the department's
website.
(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
implement this section.
Section 3. Section 16-5-16 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
(a) No later than January 1, 2026, the governing body
of each public institution of higher education shall require
each institution under its jurisdiction to display the Ten
Commandments. The display must be placed in an entry way or
other common area of the school, such as the school library.
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other common area of the school, such as the school library.
At a minimum, the Ten Commandments shall:
(1) Read the same as the language provided in Section
16-1-20.7(b);
(2) Be displayed on a poster or framed document that is
at least 11 inches by 14 inches;
(3) Be the central focus of the poster or framed
document; and
(4) Be printed in a large, easily readable font.
(b) This section does not require the governing body of
a public institution of higher education or any public
institution of higher education to spend its funds to purchase
the displays required by this section. In order to fund the
displays free of charge, a public institution of higher
education or its governing body may spend donated funds to
purchase the displays or may accept donated displays.
(c) The Alabama Commission on Higher Education shall
adopt rules to implement this section.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that all
constitutionally created boards of trustees comply with the
requirements of this section.
Section 4. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2025.
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