Nashville, Tennessee — A new bill in Tennessee, similar to a Louisiana law that is being challenged in court, would force schools to display the Ten Commandments, part of the Declaration of Independence, and the beginning of the U.S. Constitution.
Senate Bill 151, introduced by Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), requires certain papers to be shown together in a visible place at school, such as an entrance, cafeteria, or another area where students can easily see them.
The bill aims to teach students about the importance of the Ten Commandments to the values and beliefs of the United States, as shown in its founding papers.
Sen. Pody said, “We made a statement that ‘In God We Trust’ should be in all schools, and it was funded by donations. Now, we are filing another one in the same way.”
Pody told News 2 that groups would be asked to give money or the papers directly to the schools, so the law wouldn’t cost the state any money.
Some people believe that if the bill is passed, it would lead to school systems spending money on legal issues.
“If you make it a requirement, you are going to draw a lawsuit,” said J.C. Bowman, the executive director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee.
Bowman told News 2 that he doesn’t oppose the Ten Commandments. However, in 1980, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 that the Ten Commandments are clearly religious and putting them in schools goes against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This decision came after Kentucky made a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms.
“Even if I don’t agree with it, it’s the law now. I don’t like that public schools in Tennessee are being used for a case that could take a long time and waste taxpayers’ money,” Bowman said.
Last year, Louisiana made a law that required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools. This law was supposed to start in January 2025, but a federal judge canceled it last November. The state said that the Ten Commandments are important because they played a role in the development of U.S. law. A federal appeals judge will listen to arguments about the case on Thursday.
Sen. Pody told News 2 that his bill will be similar to Louisiana’s bill.
Bowman said that states might be trying to challenge things now that the Supreme Court is more right.
“They regularly challenge laws to see if the Supreme Court will change them.” “Maybe that’s what’s happening here and what they mean,” Bowman said. “If that’s true, we don’t want to be test subjects, and no school district wants to say, ‘We’re forced to do this,’ only to end up facing a lawsuit.”
Bowman thinks lawmakers might think about a bill to include “foundational documents,” like the Ten Commandments, in Tennessee’s social studies standards, which were passed last year.
“That would be the right place for it if he thinks it should be included,” Bowman said.
The bill still needs someone from the House to support it. It was presented and approved in the Senate for the first time last week.
News 2 recently reported on a Tennessee bill that would let schools display the Ten Commandments and other historical documents. That bill still needs someone in the Senate to support it.
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