A committeeof South Dakota lawmakers voted4-3to endorsea billThursday in Pierre that would require public school districts to teach the Ten Commandments and display them in every classroom.
The vote came after an hour of testimony that included opposition from public school groups. The legislation now heads to the full state Senate.
Thebill would mandate8-by-14-inch posters with easily readable font. It would repeal existing language in state law allowing local school boards to choose to display the Ten Commandments.
The bill would also require the Ten Commandments to be taught as part of history and civics classes three times during a students education at least once during each of the elementary, middle and high school years. Additional provisions in the bill would require instruction on the state and federal constitutions, the federal Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.
The bill would require the Ten Commandments to be presented as a historical legal document, including the influence of the Ten Commandments on the legal, ethical, and other cultural traditions of Western civilization.
A freshman lawmaker, Sen. John Carley, R-Piedmont, introduced the bill. He said early American textbooks, like theNew England PrimerandMcGuffey Readers, featured the Ten Commandments.
I dont think that theres a singular document, perhaps outside the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, that has been more ubiquitous in law, in government and education and media and culture, than the Ten Commandments, Carley said.
Elijah ONeal from the American Journey Experience Museum in Texas also spoke in favor of the bill. Themuseums website says it covers topics including Biblical Worldview and Christianitys Influence in America. He said the Ten Commandments provide timeless moral guidance.
ONeal also spoke on behalf of WallBuilders, a Texas-based organization supporting similar legislationin North Dakota. The organization says it helps Americans celebrate and safeguard the authentic history of our nation.
Earlier this year, Louisiana becamethe first stateto enact a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all classrooms. The Louisiana law is being challenged in court by parents who allege that it violates the First Amendments prohibition against state-sponsored religion.Similar legislationfailed in Texasin 2023, but supportersplan to try againthis year.
Legality debated
Opponent testimony came from theSouth Dakota School Administrators Association, theSouth Dakota Association of School Boards, the South Dakota United Schools Association, the South Dakota Large School Group, American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, and some local religious leaders.
Opponents said the bill violates the state and federal constitutions. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits laws respecting an establishment of religion. South Dakotas constitutionsaysNo person shall be compelled to attend or support any ministry or place of worship against his consent nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship. It goes on to say that No money or property of the state shall be given or appropriated for the benefit of any sectarian or religious society or institution.
The Rev.Lauren Stanley, an Episcopal priest, said the bill violates the separation of church and state.
Teaching the Ten Commandments as a basis for our laws, which is what this bill calls for, is clearly a violation of the right to religious freedom, she said.
Bill supporter and Texas attorney Matt Krause said a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision,Kennedy v. Bremerton School District,concluded that public displays of religious symbols rooted in history and tradition are constitutionally permissible.In that case, the court ruled that a high school football coachs on-field prayers were protected under the First Amendment.
Krauseis a Republican former Texas state representative who has been advocating for Ten Commandments legislation around the nation for the First Liberty Institute.
Rob Monson, representing South Dakota school administrators, said the bill removes local decision-making and imposes a one-size-fits-all mandate.
If we believe putting the Ten Commandments on every classroom wall is going to have some sort of moral bearing on students, I think were horribly mistaken, he said.
Opponents warned the law could provoke lawsuits, risking taxpayer expense. They also questioned how controversial or adult themes in the Ten Commandments, such as adultery, would be explained to young students.
Lawmakers split
Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, voted against the bill. He is a former public school teacher and the lone Democrat on the Senate Education Committee.
Smith said there are different versions of the Ten Commandments, and he did not grow up with the version Carley wants displayed.
Theres a lot of people in this room that have talked about indoctrination, especially towards me, because of the party that Im a member of, he said. Ive heard it over and over about the indoctrination of the left. And youre going to stand here today and tell me were not trying to do something in the other direction right now?
The committee chairman, Sen. Kyle Schoenfish, R-Scotland, also voted against the measure. He said a statewide mandate is not necessary when current law already allows schools to choose to display the Ten Commandments.
Sen. Sue Peterson, R-Sioux Falls, said a similar state law requiring the display of the national motto, In God We Trust, in public schools has been implemented without significant problems since the law was adopted in 2019. She said the new bill could follow a similar path.
The South Dakota Board of Education Standards would oversee compliance with the bill. The legislation includes no punishment for noncompliance.
Voting yes on the bill were Sens. Peterson; Sam Marty, R-Prairie City; Stephanie Sauder, R-Bryant; and Curt Voight, R-Rapid City. Voting no were Sens. Smith, Schoenfish and Lauren Nelson, R-Yankton.
About South Dakota Searchlight: We use our journalistic searchlight to illuminate critical issues facing South Dakota, dissect the decisions made by state leaders, and explain the consequences of their policies and the role of politics on South Dakotans.South Dakota Searchlight launched in 2022. Were an affiliate ofStates Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. The staff of the Searchlight retains full editorial independence.
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