WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The Texas House passed a bill to allow prayer in school.
Here’s a look at the discussion that got pretty heated at times.
Senate Bill 11 will allow school districts and public charter schools to set aside time during the day to pray and read religious texts.
It will occur outside of regular class instruction. Students and staff can opt out, and each school district will vote on the parameters.
State Representative District 68 David Spiller says, “When I was on school board, we talked local control this will give local schools total control.”
“Potentially every school district will set up Muslim, Christian, and other faiths, so potentially have more than a dozen prayer sections every day," State Representative District 101 Chris Turner said.
One state representative spoke out against the bill.
State Representative District 50 James Talarico says, “If we pass your bill, we encourage employees to discourage or encourage so they don’t go to hell.”
One lawmaker commented, “People aren’t opposed to prayer, but they fear the application of the policy.”
The conversation turned to race when one lawmaker said that students in the 1950s and 1960s were better mentally and physically with prayer in schools.
“So just to clarify, you think black students during the Jim Crow era were better off. Got it," State Representative District 146 Lauren Simmons says.
In the end, they passed the bill 91-51.
The House will also soon vote on SB 10, which would require every public classroom to display the Ten Commandments.
We’ll keep you up to speed on that vote.
