🙅♂️🚫 Ka Buggah Fo Make Texas Public Schools Show Da Ten Commandments Pau Hana, No Can
No can, braddah. Da Republican peeps wen try fo’ bring more God inside da classroom, but da ting wen flop. K-den, dey still stay thinking about using chaplains as school counselors. 🏫🛐
On top Tuesday, one mean kine bill wea would’ve wen make all da classrooms inside Texas show da Ten Commandments wen flop, cause da State House no can pass um. 🗳️👎
This bill was one small part of one big push by da conservative Republicans inside da Legislature fo’ make religion mo’ present inside da everyday life of da schools. Not too long ago, both chambers wen pass versions of one bill fo’ let da school districts hire religious chaplains instead of da licensed counselors. 🙏👩🏫
But da Ten Commandments bill, wea wen pass da State Senate las’ month, was still waiting fo’ da Texas House until Tuesday, wea was da las’ day fo’ approve bills befo’ da session ends next Monday. Da clock wen run out befo’ da bill could get one vote. ⏰🚫
Looks like dese bills was trying fo’ test how much da conservative majority inside da Supreme Court would let religion inside public education. Las’ year, da court wen agree wit one football coach from Washington State, Joseph Kennedy, who wen pray with his players at da 50-yard line, saying he had da constitutional right fo’ do so. 🏈🙏
Seems like now religious groups in plenty states stay looking fo’ see how far states might now go in supporting religious expression inside public schools. Dis month, da South Carolina legislature wen introduce their own bill fo’ require da display of da Ten Commandments in all classrooms. In Oklahoma, da state education board was asked earlier dis year fo’ approve da creation of one school wea da curriculum all religious; da board wen say no to da application. 🏫✝️
Da Texas bill about showing da Ten Commandments was kine like one oddah bill, wea wen pass in 2021 during da las’ legislative session, wea required public schools fo’ accept and display posters wea say “In God We Trust.” Patriot Mobile, one conservative Christian cellphone company outside of Fort Worth, was one of da first fo’ donate dese kine posters aftah da bill wen pass. 📱🙏
But da bill about da Ten Commandments wen go even mo’ far. It wen require schools fo’ display posters of da words and fo’ do so “in one place wea everybody can see inside each classroom” and “in one size and typeface wea one person with average vision can read from anywhere inside da classroom.” 🏫🔟
If schools no can get their own posters, they going have to accept donations of posters, da bill said. Da bill also wen say exactly how da commandments should be written, wit da text including prescribed capitalization: “I AM the LORD thy God.” 📜🕊️
Da words, taken from a Protestant version of the commandments from the King James Version of the Bible, are da same as those that stay on one monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. Gov. Greg Abbott, when he was state attorney general, wen defend da placement of da monument befo’ da Supreme Court mo’ than ten years ago. 🏛️⚖️
Da bill allowing school districts to hire chaplains or to accept them as volunteers was seen as one solution to one problem inside Texas and oddah states: not enough school counselors. Those against da bill said that chaplains no can do da job cause dey no have da same expertise, training or license as counselors. 🏫🎓
“The way da bill stay written, one school board could decide fo’ have no counselors, no family specialists, no school psychologists and replace them all with chaplains,” said Diego Bernal, one Democratic representative from San Antonio, during a hearing dis month. 🗣️💼
“I guess if the schools thought that that was a necessary ting, they could make that decision,” replied da bill’s sponsor in da State House, Cole Hefner, one Republican representative from East Texas. 🗣️🤷♂️
Da measure, known as Senate Bill 763, wen pass in da Texas Senate and then in da House; now the chambers gotta agree on a final version befo’ sending it to Mr. Abbott. 🗳️👍
Da Ten Commandments bill, known as Senate Bill 1515, wen go smooth through da State Senate, wea Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a hard-right Republican, stay holding big power. He wen praise da bill as “one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs.” 🗣️💬
But aftah going to da Texas House, da legislation wen get stuck, one problem wea common inside da Republican-dominated Legislature, wea meet once every two years and whose members dis session introduced more than 8,000 pieces of proposed legislation: deadlines in the legislative calendar. 📆⌛
Tuesday was da final day for the House to pass bills. As Republicans wen rush fo’ do so, Democrats, who get little direct power, wen delay da proceedings by talking long time and over and over again at every chance for most of the day, one process known in da Texas Capitol as “chubbing.” 🏛️🗣️
By doing so, they wen stop da Ten Commandments bill — and plenty oddah kine bills wea wen come up late in da day’s calendar — from getting one vote. 📝🚫
“This bill was an unconstitutional attack on our core liberties, and we are happy it failed,” David Donatti, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said in a statement. “The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities — not politicians or the government — the right to instill religious beliefs in their children.” 🏛️⚖️
NOW IN ENGLISH
🙅♂️🚫 Bill Requiring Texas Public Schools to Exhibit the Ten Commandments Doesn’t Make the Cut
A Republican initiative aiming to instill more religion into classrooms stumbled. Despite this, lawmakers seem inclined to permit chaplains to serve as school counselors. 🏫🛐
A bold endeavor to integrate religion into public schools throughout Texas stumbled this Tuesday, as the State House didn’t manage to pass a controversial bill. This legislation would have made the display of the Ten Commandments mandatory in every classroom. 🗳️👎
This legislation was part of a broader movement by conservative Republicans in the Legislature, who seek to augment the presence of religion in the day-to-day life of public schools. In recent times, both chambers passed versions of a bill to permit school districts to hire religious chaplains as an alternative to licensed counselors. 🙏👩🏫
However, the Ten Commandments legislation, which was approved by the State Senate last month, remained pending before the Texas House until Tuesday, the last day to approve bills before the session ends next Monday. Time ran out before the legislation could receive a vote. ⏰🚫
These bills seemed to be an attempt to probe the openness of the conservative majority in the Supreme Court towards revisiting the legal boundaries of religion in public education. Last year, the court supported a football coach from Washington State, Joseph Kennedy, in a disagreement over his prayers with players at the 50-yard line, asserting he had a constitutional right to do so. 🏈🙏
Recently, religious groups in several states seem keen on gauging how far states might now venture in actively supporting religious expression in public schools. This month, the South Carolina legislature introduced its own bill to require the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. In Oklahoma, the state education board was asked earlier this year to approve the establishment of an explicitly religious charter school; the board ultimately rejected the proposal. 🏫✝️
The Texas bill on displaying the Ten Commandments bore similarities to another bill, passed in 2021 during the last legislative session, which required public schools to accept and display posters bearing the motto “In God We Trust.” Patriot Mobile, a conservative Christian cellphone company located outside of Fort Worth, was one of the first to make such donations after the bill’s passage. 📱🙏
Yet, the legislation on the Ten Commandments went a step further. It necessitated schools to exhibit posters of the words, and to do so “in a conspicuous place in each classroom” and “in a size and typeface that can be read by a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.” 🏫🔟
Schools that do not provide their own posters would have to accept donations of posters, according to the bill. The legislation also specified how the commandments were to be rendered, with the text including prescribed capitalization: “I AM the LORD thy God.” 📜🕊️
These words, taken from a Protestant version of the commandments from the King James Version of the Bible, are identical to those appearing on a monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. Gov. Greg Abbott, when he was state attorney general, successfully defended the monument’s placement more than a decade ago before the Supreme Court. 🏛️⚖️
The legislation allowing school districts to hire chaplains or to accept them as volunteers was presented as a solution to an issue in Texas and other states: a scarcity of school counselors. Those opposing the measure contended that chaplains couldn’t fill the need because they lacked the same expertise, training, or licensing as counselors. 🏫🎓
“I guess if the schools thought that that was a necessary thing, they could make that decision,” responded the bill’s sponsor in the State House, Cole Hefner, a Republican representative from East Texas. 🗣️🤷♂️
This bill, known as Senate Bill 763, passed in the Texas Senate and then in the House; now the chambers must agree on a final version before sending it to Mr. Abbott. 🗳️👍
The Ten Commandments bill, known as Senate Bill 1515, also passed smoothly through the State Senate. But after reaching the Texas House, the legislation encountered a common hurdle in the Republican-dominated Legislature: deadlines in the legislative calendar. 📆⌛
Tuesday was the last day for the House to pass bills. As Republicans rushed to do so, Democrats delayed the proceedings by speaking at length repeatedly, a process known in the Texas Capitol as “chubbing.” By doing this, they obstructed the Ten Commandments bill from coming up for a vote. 🏛️🗣️
“This bill was an unconstitutional attack on our core liberties, and we are happy it failed,” said David Donatti, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “The First Amendment guarantees families and faith communities — not politicians or the government — the right to instill religious beliefs in their children.” 🏛️⚖️
