A new Texas law lets public schools set aside time for prayer in classrooms 鈥� and Attorney General Ken Paxton is urging them to do it.
, which went into effect this week, allows school boards to set aside time for voluntary prayer or the reading of religious texts.
Paxton on Tuesday encouraged Texas' schools to move quickly, saying he wants 鈥渢he Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up鈥� in classrooms. Paxton also recommended students start with the Lord鈥檚 Prayer.
鈥淭wisted, radical liberals want to erase Truth, dismantle the solid foundation that America鈥檚 success and strength were built upon, and erode the moral fabric of our society,鈥� Paxton said in a statement. 鈥淥ur nation was founded on the rock of Biblical Truth, and I will not stand by while the far-left attempts to push our country into the sinking sand.鈥�
Under , each school district鈥檚 board of trustees must take a recorded vote within six months on whether to adopt such a policy. Students would need parental consent to participate. The measure also directs the attorney general鈥檚 office to provide legal representation to districts or charter schools that implement prayer policies.
SB 11 is part of a broader push by Texas Republicans to increase religious expression in public schools.
Earlier this year, lawmakers also approved , which requires schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. That measure has already from civil liberties groups and is across Texas鈥� largest metro areas. Paxton says he鈥檚 appealing the ruling.
Critics argue the new laws amount to state-sponsored Christianity. Sarah Corning, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said they undermine constitutional protections.
鈥淭exas students go to school to learn, not to be evangelized,鈥� Corning told The Texas Newsroom.
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, added that the measures attempt to impose one set of religious views on all Texas students.
鈥淥ur Constitution鈥檚 promise of church-state separation means that students and their families 鈥� not politicians 鈥� get to decide when and how public school children engage with religion,鈥� Laser said. 鈥淥ur attorneys are ready to protect the religious freedom of all Texas public schoolchildren and their families.
