A bill passed by Texas lawmakers would allow teachers and school employees to pray or engage in religious speech while on duty in public schools.
Senate Bill 965, which received a 22-9 party-line vote in the Republican-led chamber, stipulates that “the right of an employee of a school district or open-enrollment charter school to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty may not be infringed on by the district or school or another state governmental entity.”
Currently, Texas law affirms the right of public school students to pray in schools as long as participation is voluntary. The law states that “a person may not require, encourage, or coerce a student to engage in or refrain from such prayer or meditation during any school activity.”
The Texas Education Code allows school districts to establish a “period of silence” at the beginning of the first class each day, during which students can “reflect or meditate” as they choose.
The legislation, authored by Republican state Sen. Tan Parker of Flower Mound, follows a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which upheld a Washington high school football coach’s right to pray on the field during and after games, citing the First Amendment’s protections of free exercise and free speech.
SB 965 is part of a larger initiative by Republican lawmakers in Texas to expand the role of religion in public schools. Other bills currently awaiting action in the Texas House include proposals to require the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom and to allow prayer or Bible readings during the school day.
If passed, SB 965 would permit any school employee to join students in prayer or meditation. The bill will now proceed to the Texas House of Representatives for further consideration.
