The deadline has passed for Texas school districts to decide whether to adopt a daily period for prayer or religious study in accordance with Senate Bill 11. Despite the attention the bill received at the Capitol, the results suggest something lawmakers may not have expected: most districts across Texas declined to adopt the policy.
SB 11, authored by state Sen. Mayes Middleton and Rep. David Spiller, requires school boards to hold a vote on whether to implement a daily prayer or religious reading period. (Middleton, for those keeping score, is currently in a runoff election for Attorney General following the March 3 primary) As The Texas Tribune reported, Spiller acknowledged that only 15 of the more than 1,200 school districts and charter schools have adopted the measure, which is part of a broader push by state leaders to bring more religious expression into public schools.
District responses have varied widely, but not in the way proponents may have hoped. From large urban areas to suburban and rural districts, many school boards voted against adopting the policy, often noting that students already have the constitutional right to pray or read religious texts voluntarily during the school day. Some went as far as adopting a resolution affirming these existing rights but declining to adopt a period of prayer consistent with the bill.
Civil liberties organizations have been closely tracking those votes. The ACLU of Texas maintains a running list of district responses, encouraging school boards to reject policies that could blur the line between church and state.
For Texas AFT members, none of this is especially surprising. In previous Hotline coverage during the legislative session, we noted that SB 11 would allow districts to create a daily prayer or religious study period, even though students’ religious rights are already protected under existing law. We also warned that measures like SB 11 were part of a wave of legislation inserting religion into public schools rather than addressing real classroom needs.
And even if districts rejected this particular mechanism, religion is still arriving in classrooms through other state policies (even with hundreds of religious leaders pleading against it). The Bluebonnet Learning curriculum, approved by the State Board of Education, already includes substantial biblical references in instructional materials, raising concerns from educators and parents alike.
So after months of debate and political theater, the SB 11 rollout offers a useful lesson: when local school boards, representing communities from big cities to small rural districts, were asked whether they wanted a state-encouraged prayer period, the vast majority chose not to implement it.
For a Legislature that loves to talk about “local control,” that outcome is certainly worth reflecting on.
Texas AFT represents all non-administrative certified and classified public school employees in the state of Texas. We represent the interests of teachers, counselors, librarians, diagnosticians, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, nurses, teaching assistants, clerical employees, and the other employees who make our schools work. We also represent employees in universities, colleges, and community and junior colleges.
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