Education, Not Indoctrination

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to  sign the recently passed S.B. 10 bill which mandates that every public elementary and secondary school in Texas must display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments “in a conspicuous place in each classroom.” The bill mandates that the display be no smaller than 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall and that the Commandments be set forth “in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.” The bill also requires that a specific version of the Ten Commandments, selected by lawmakers and associated with Protestant faiths, be used for every display.

A year ago, recognizing that such threats were growing, SCW worked with educators to produce these two Ten Commandments of Education posters as a constructive alternative. One is designed for elementary school students and the other for middle and high schoolers.

S.B. 10 violates longstanding Supreme Court precedent. Nearly 50 years ago, in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment forbids public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Following this precedent, a federal district court recently held in Roake v. Brumley that a Louisiana law similar to S.B. 10 violates parents’ and students’ rights under the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment. The court ruled that the displays will religiously coerce students.

Our Ten Commandments of Education posters are designed to help teachers and students discuss what they can do to make themselves, their classroom and the world a more just and peaceful place.  One poster is geared for middle and high school age people, while Ten Commandments of Education for Kids is aimed at younger children. Our messages are neither religious, nor sectarian. Instead, they articulate guidelines for ways of being that foster community, collaboration and joy of learning.

As the school year comes to a close, we want all students to be part of creating classrooms, schools and communities that are welcoming, inclusive and courageous.