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Measure to require Ten Commandments in classrooms fails to pass after heated cultural and legal debate
Summary
Senate Bill 114, which would have required displays of the Ten Commandments in every public‑school classroom, failed to clear the Senate after intense floor debate about religious liberty, tribal history and constitutional risk.
Senate Bill 114, a proposal to require displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school building and classroom, failed to pass on Feb. 5 after a tie vote in committee and heated floor debate about separation of church and state and the statute’s cultural impact on Native students.
Sponsor Senator Phelan framed the bill as an educational measure rooted in Western legal tradition, citing U.S. Supreme Court decisions he said expanded religious liberty. Opponents argued the bill would coerce a particular religious text into public classrooms and raised constitutional concerns and the risk of costly litigation. Senator…
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