THOU SHALT NOT

Republicans’ Wacky Ten Commandments School Bill Fails

They wanted the Decalogue displayed in every classroom.

A bill that would have forced Texas public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom failed to advance in the Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday. The bill, which passed the state Senate in April, was effectively scrapped early Wednesday as House lawmakers failed to secure a vote for the bill before a midnight deadline. The proposals would have ordered schools to show posters of the Ten Commandments “in a conspicuous place in each classroom” and “in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.” Schools that did not have their own posters would have been made to accept donations of posters. Republican state Sen. Phil King, who authored the bill, previously said he hoped the law would help to restore religious freedoms “that were lost” and remind “students all across Texas of the importance of a fundamental foundation,” CNN reports.