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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 793 By: Jett
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to education; stating legislative
66	66	intent; requiring school district boards of education
67	67	and charter school governing boards to display the
68	68	Ten Commandments in each classroom by certain date;
69	69	requiring display to be certain minimum size;
70	70	requiring focus on certain text; providing text of
71	71	display; requiring display to include certain context
72	72	statement; allowing additional displa ys; directing
73	73	displays to be free of charge; directing the State
74	74	Department of Education to identify and publish
75	75	certain resources; providing for promulgation of
76	76	rules; requiring certain institutions of higher
77	77	education to display the Ten Commandments in e ach
78	78	classroom by certain date; requiring display to be
79	79	certain minimum size; requiring focus on certain
80	80	text; directing displays to be free of charge;
81	81	providing for promulgation of rules; providing for
82	82	noncodification; providing for codification;
83	83	providing an effective date; and declaring an
84	84	emergency.
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88	88
89	89	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
90	90	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
91	91	codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
92	92	The Legislature finds and declares the following:
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144	144	1. In 2005, the United States Supreme Court recognized that it
145	145	is permissible to display the Ten Commandments on government
146	146	property in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677, 688 (2005);
147	147	2. Section 2101 of Title 25 of the Okl ahoma Statutes authorizes
148	148	the display of the Ten Commandments in the public bu ildings or
149	149	grounds of every county, municipality, city, town, school, or any
150	150	other political subdivision;
151	151	3. In 2019, the United States Supreme Court further recognized
152	152	that the Ten Commandments “have historical significance as one of
153	153	the foundations of our legal system… ” in American Legion v. American
154	154	Humanists Association, 588 U.S. 29, 53 (2019), and the Court also
155	155	ruled that the displaying of the Ten Commandments on public pro perty
156	156	may have “multiple purposes” such as “historical significance ” and
157	157	represent a “common cultural heritage. ” id,588 U.S. at 54;
158	158	4. Recognizing the historical role of the Ten Commandments
159	159	accords with the history of the United States and faithfully
160	160	reflects the understanding of the nation ’s founders with respect to
161	161	the necessity of civic morality to a functional self -government.
162	162	History records that James Madison, the fourth president of the
163	163	United States, stated that “(w)e have staked the whole future of our
164	164	new nation...upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern
165	165	according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments ”;
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217	217	5. Including the Ten Commandments in the education of the
218	218	children of this state is part of the history, culture, and
219	219	tradition of this state and the United States;
220	220	6. The text of the Ten Commandments set forth in paragraph 2 of
221	221	subsection A of Section 2 of this act is identical to the text of
222	222	the Ten Commandments monument that was upheld by the United States
223	223	Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677,688 (2005);
224	224	7. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was America’s first written
225	225	constitution and made a covenant with God to “form a civil body
226	226	politic.” This was the first purely American document of self -
227	227	government and affirmed the link between civil society and God;
228	228	8. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a method of
229	229	admitting new states to the Union from the territory as the country
230	230	expanded to the Pacific Ocean. The Ordinance “extended the
231	231	fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty ” to the
232	232	territories and stated that “(r)eligion, morality, and knowledge,
233	233	being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind,
234	234	schools, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged ”;
235	235	9. It is the intent of the Legislature to apply the decision
236	236	set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry,
237	237	id, to continue the rich tradition and ensure that students in
238	238	public schools in this state may understand and appreciate the
239	239	foundational documents of th e government of this state and the
240	240	United States;
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292	292	10. The United States Supre me Court acknowledged that the Ten
293	293	Commandments may be displayed on local government property when a
294	294	private donation is made for the purchase of the historical
295	295	monument, Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summ um, 555 U.S. 460 (2009);
296	296	and
297	297	11. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of
298	298	this section shall not create an unfunded mandate on any school
299	299	district board of education or charter school governing board. The
300	300	boards of education and governing boards are encouraged to use
301	301	documents that are p rinted and made available to schools free of
302	302	charge.
303	303	SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
304	304	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 24 -106.2 of Title 70, unless
305	305	there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
306	306	A. 1. No later than January 1, 2026, each school district
307	307	board of education and charter school governing board shall display
308	308	the Ten Commandments in each classroom in each school under its
309	309	jurisdiction. The nature of the display shall be determined by each
310	310	board of education or governing board with a minimum requirement
311	311	that the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a poster or framed
312	312	document that is at least eleven (11) inches by fourteen (14)
313	313	inches. The text of the Ten Commandments shall be the central focus
314	314	of the poster or framed document and shall be printed in a large,
315	315	easily readable font.
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367	367	2. The text shall read as follows:
368	368	“The Ten Commandments
369	369	I AM the Lord thy God.
370	370	Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
371	371	Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
372	372	Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
373	373	Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
374	374	Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be lon g upon the
375	375	land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
376	376	Thou shalt not kill.
377	377	Thou shalt not commit adultery.
378	378	Thou shalt not steal.
379	379	Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
380	380	Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor ’s house.
381	381	Thou shalt not covet thy neigh bor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor
382	382	his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anyth ing that is thy
383	383	neighbor’s.”
384	384	3. The Ten Commandments shall be displayed with a context
385	385	statement as follows:
386	386	“The History of the Ten Commandments in American Public Education:
387	387	The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public
388	388	education for almost three centuries. Around the year 1688, The New
389	389	England Primer became the first published American textbook and was
390	390	the equivalent of a first grade reader. The New England P rimer was
391	391
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442	442	used in public schools throughout the United States for more than
443	443	one hundred fifty years to teach Americans to read and contained
444	444	more than forty questions about the Ten Commandments.
445	445	The Ten Commandments were also included in public school text books
446	446	published by educator William McGuffey, a noted university president
447	447	and professor. A version of his famous McGuffey Readers was written
448	448	in the early 1800s and became one of the most popular textbooks in
449	449	the history of American education, selling mo re than one hundred
450	450	million copies. Copies of the McGuffey Readers are still available
451	451	today.
452	452	The Ten Commandments also appeared in textbooks published by Noah
453	453	Webster and which were widely used in American public schools along
454	454	with America’s first comprehensive dictionary that Webster also
455	455	published. His textbook, The American Spelling Book, contained the
456	456	Ten Commandments and sold more than one hundred million copies for
457	457	use by public school children all across the nation and was still
458	458	available for use in American public schools in the year 1975. ”
459	459	4. A public school district or charter school in this state may
460	460	also display the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence,
461	461	as provided for in Section 24 -106.1 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma
462	462	Statutes, and the Northwest Ordinance with the Ten Commandments.
463	463	5. The provisions of this section shall not require a school
464	464	district board of education or charter school governing body to
465	465
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516	516	spend its funds to purchase displays. To provide the displays free
517	517	of charge, the board of education or governing body shall:
518	518	a. accept donated funds to p urchase the displays, or
519	519	b. accept donated displays.
520	520	6. The State Department of Education shall identify and publish
521	521	on its website appropriate resources to comply with the prov isions
522	522	of this section that are free of charge.
523	523	B. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to
524	524	oversee implementation of the provisions of this act.
525	525	SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
526	526	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3205.15 of Title 70, unless
527	527	there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
528	528	A. 1. No later than January 1, 2026, the governing board of
529	529	each institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher
530	530	Education shall require each institution under its jurisdiction to
531	531	display the Ten Commandments in each classroom on the institution ’s
532	532	campus. At a minimum, the Ten Commandments shall be displayed on a
533	533	poster or framed document that is at least eleven (11) inches by
534	534	fourteen (14) inches. The text of the Ten Commandments shall be the
535	535	central focus of the poster or framed document and shall be printed
536	536	in a large, easily readable font.
537	537	2. The text of the Ten Commandments shall be identical to the
538	538	language set forth in paragraph 2 of subsection A of Section 2 of
539	539	this act.
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591	591	3. The provisions of this section shall not require the
592	592	governing board of an institution of higher education within The
593	593	Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to spend its funds to
594	594	purchase such displays. Th e governing board of an institution may
595	595	spend donated funds to purchase the Te n Commandments or may accept
596	596	donated displays.
597	597	B. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall
598	598	promulgate rules to oversee implementation of the provisions of this
599	599	act.
600	600	SECTION 4. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
601	601	SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
602	602	of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
603	603	declared to exist, by reason whereof t his act shall take effect and
604	604	be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
605	605
606	606	60-1-2 EB 1/15/2025 6:15:57 PM

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB793 Compare Versions