Some Texas lawmakers pushing to bring religion into classrooms

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas lawmakers will decide whether there is a place on campus for public school students and staff to express their spiritual beliefs. 

Some Texas State lawmakers are pushing the passage of Senate Bill 11 to grant students and staff the freedom to express their faith through prayer and reading on public school campuses. 

The chamber approved the bill with a 23-7 vote on Tuesday, March 18.

These requirements would be implemented in public schools across the state. 

What is SB 11?

What they're saying:

"Students and educators deserve the opportunity to pray if they want to," said Republican Texas Senator Mayes Middleton. 

SB 11 would allow children and educators to exercise their constitutional right to pray at school or read spiritual texts, like the Bible or Torah. No one would be required to do this, but the bill proposes that they would be given a choice. 

"I just feel a very deep concern for the students who may feel additional pressure on top of all the other pressures they're already going through," said Democratic Texas Senator José Menéndez.

Parents or guardians can prohibit their child from participating through a consent form. It also states that it ‘may not be a substitute for instructional time.’

"The parent has a lot of input in that," said Senator Middleton. "We've done a lot of legislation in this chamber to put more tools back in the hands of parents, and that's who that rests with that parental consent."

What is SB 10?

What they're saying:

Senate Bill 10, which concerns the Ten Commandments, was tentatively approved. 

"At the end of the day, we wanted it to match what was already on the grounds of the Texas capital, something that had already worked its way up the courts all the way through the Supreme Court and had been approved," said Republican Texas Senator Phil King. 

If passed, it would require a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that is at least 16x20 inches in size, to be visible in each classroom. 

Texas is following Louisiana's lead after the state next door moved to mandate this last year. 

"1.9 million practice Islam," said Democratic Texas Senator Sarah Eckhardt. "Educating Texas students on the basics of this world's religion and others. We ensure that our students can become global citizens and educated policymakers and professionals."