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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
SENATE BILL 793 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to education; stating legislative
intent; requiring school district boards of education
and charter school governing boards to display the
Ten Commandments in each classroom by certain date;
requiring display to be certain minimum size;
requiring focus on certain text; providing text of
display; requiring display to include certain context
statement; allowing additional displa ys; directing
displays to be free of charge; directing the State
Department of Education to identify and publish
certain resources; providing for promulgation of
rules; requiring certain institutions of higher
education to display the Ten Commandments in e ach
classroom by certain date; requiring display to be
certain minimum size; requiring focus on certain
text; directing displays to be free of charge;
providing for promulgation of rules; providing for
noncodification; providing for codification;
providing an effective date; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
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1. In 2005, the United States Supreme Court recognized that it
is permissible to display the Ten Commandments on government
property in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 688 (2005);
2. Section 2101 of Title 25 of the Okl ahoma Statutes authorizes
the display of the Ten Commandments in the public bu ildings or
grounds of every county, municipality, city, town, school, or any
other political subdivision;
3. In 2019, the United States Supreme Court further recognized
that the Ten Commandments “have historical significance as one of
the foundations of our legal system… ” in American Legion v. American
Humanists Association, 588 U.S. 29, 53 (2019), and the Court also
ruled that the displaying of the Ten Commandments on public pro perty
may have “multiple purposes” such as “historical significance ” and
represent a “common cultural heritage. ” id,588 U.S. at 54;
4. Recognizing the historical role of the Ten Commandments
accords with the history of the United States and faithfully
reflects the understanding of the nation ’s founders with respect to
the necessity of civic morality to a functional self -government.
History records that James Madison, the fourth president of the
United States, stated that “(w)e have staked the whole future of our
new nation...upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern
according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments ”;
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5. Including the Ten Commandments in the education of the
children of this state is part of the history, culture, and
tradition of this state and the United States;
6. The text of the Ten Commandments set forth in paragraph 2 of
subsection A of Section 2 of this act is identical to the text of
the Ten Commandments monument that was upheld by the United States
Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677,688 (2005);
7. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was America’s first written
constitution and made a covenant with 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;
8. 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 Ocean. 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 ”;
9. It is the intent of the Legislature to apply the decision
set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry,
id, to continue the rich tradition and ensure that students in
public schools in this state may understand and appreciate the
foundational documents of th e government of this state and the
United States;
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10. The United States Supre me Court 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. Summ um, 555 U.S. 460 (2009);
and
11. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of
this section shall not create an unfunded mandate on any school
district board of education or charter school governing board. The
boards of education and governing boards are encouraged to use
documents that are p rinted and made available to schools free of
charge.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24 -106.2 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. 1. No later than January 1, 2026, each school district
board of education and charter school governing board shall display
the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each school under its
jurisdiction. The nature of the display shall be determined by each
board of education or governing board with a minimum requirement
that the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a poster or framed
document that is at least eleven (11) inches by fourteen (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.
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2. The text 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 lon g 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 neigh bor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor
his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anyth ing that is thy
neighbor’s.”
3. The Ten Commandments shall be displayed with a context
statement as follows:
“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 P rimer was
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used in public schools throughout the United States for more than
one hundred fifty years to teach Americans to read and contained
more than forty questions about the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments were also included in public school text books
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 mo re than one hundred
million copies. Copies of the McGuffey Readers are still available
today.
The Ten Commandments also appeared in textbooks published by Noah
Webster and 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 one hundred 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. ”
4. A public school district or charter school in this state may
also display the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence,
as provided for in Section 24 -106.1 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, and the Northwest Ordinance with the Ten Commandments.
5. The provisions of this section shall not require a school
district board of education or charter school governing body to
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spend its funds to purchase displays. To provide the displays free
of charge, the board of education or governing body shall:
a. accept donated funds to p urchase the displays, or
b. accept donated displays.
6. The State Department of Education shall identify and publish
on its website appropriate resources to comply with the prov isions
of this section that are free of charge.
B. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to
oversee implementation of the provisions of this act.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3205.15 of Title 70, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. 1. No later than January 1, 2026, the governing board of
each institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher
Education shall require each institution under its jurisdiction to
display the Ten Commandments in each classroom on the institution ’s
campus. At a minimum, the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a
poster or framed document that is at least eleven (11) inches by
fourteen (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.
2. The text of the Ten Commandments shall be identical to the
language set forth in paragraph 2 of subsection A of Section 2 of
this act.
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3. The provisions of this section shall not require the
governing board of an institution of higher education within The
Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to spend its funds to
purchase such displays. Th e governing board of an institution may
spend donated funds to purchase the Te n Commandments or may accept
donated displays.
B. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall
promulgate rules to oversee implementation of the provisions of this
act.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof t his act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
60-1-2 EB 1/15/2025 6:15:57 PM