Bills I’m Watching: SB 11 – Prayer/Bible Reading in School

(“Bills I’m watching…” is a series of blog posts where I summarize in plain language what I think a bill is saying. — ABT) 

SB 11: relating to a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text in public schools.

Authors: Middleton, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Campbell, Creighton, Flores, Hagenbuch, Hall, Hancock, Hinojosa, Adam, Huffman, Hughes, King, Kolkhorst, Nichols, Parker, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks

My Summary: 

The Board of Trustees of a school district may vote to require every campus of the district to provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text.  With these stipulations:

• Prayer/religious reading may not be done over the loudspeaker/public address
• Prayer/religious reading may not take the place of instructional time.
• The policy adopted must prohibit an employee or student from participating unless the employee or parent/guardian of the student signs a consent that:
  • Acknowledges that the employee/student has a choice to participate
  • That the parent/guardian has no objection to the student participating or hearing the prayers/readings
  • Expressly waives the right to file suit under the first amendment establishment of religion clause

Consent may be revoked, and employee/student may not participate until consent is restored, but employee/parent is still bound by the waiver from filing suit.

If a policy is adopted, it must provide that the prayer/reading will not take place in the physical presence of, or within the hearing of any employee or student for whom consent has not been given or for whom it has been revoked.

In order to comply, the prayer/reading may take place

• before normal school hours,
• only in rooms where every student and employee has turned in a consent form (which may be the whole school or district in some cases).
• Or any other method recommended by the attorney general or legal counsel for the school.

School Districts must vote on whether or not they want to adopt one of these policies within 6 months of the effective date of the act.