


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday recommended that schools allow students to recite the Lord’s Prayer as part of the Lone Star State’s push to increase religious expression in public schools.
Texas Senate Bill 11, enacted on Monday, effectively enables school boards to adopt policies for voluntary prayer and reading the Bible or other religious texts.
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Proponents of the new law argue that its permitted practices are voluntary and apply to all religions to avoid infringing on anyone’s freedom of religion protected under the First Amendment. Paxton is urging all schools in the state to engage with religion, placing an emphasis on Christianity.
“In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up,” Paxton said in a statement.
“Twisted, radical liberals want to erase Truth, dismantle the solid foundation that America’s success and strength were built upon, and erode the moral fabric of our society,” he added. “Our 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.”

Under the law, each school district board must vote on whether to adopt a religious policy within six months after Sept. 1. To participate in voluntary prayer and the reading of religious texts, students would need parental consent.
The legislation also directs Paxton’s office to provide legal representation to school districts or charter schools that choose to adopt such a policy in the event they are challenged in court. Paxton may also recommend best practices for implementation. He urges students to start with the Lord’s Prayer.
This is the latest instance of Texas Republicans prioritizing religion in public schools.
PAXTON DEMANDS SCHOOL DISTRICTS NOT UNDER INJUNCTION TO DISPLAY TEN COMMANDMENTS
Earlier this year, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a measure requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. It was quickly met with legal challenges, resulting in a preliminary injunction last month. The ruling, however, only applied to 11 school districts involved in the litigation.
Paxton, whose office is currently appealing the injunction, said the rest of the state’s schools must have posted the Ten Commandments by Sept. 1 in compliance with the law.