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38 Bills in 20 States
Since 2023, at least 38 bills in 20 states have sought to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Three states passed them into law. Louisiana went first. Texas followed. Arkansas joined. The Fifth Circuit upheld both Louisiana’s and Texas’s laws as constitutional, clearing the path for the rest.
38 bills in 20 states. 76% of voucher students attend religious schools. The Fifth Circuit upheld Ten Commandments in classrooms. Oklahoma’s mandate was struck down, then the superintendent resigned.
Nationally, 76% of students using vouchers attend religious schools. In Missouri, the number is 98%. In Ohio, nearly 100% of the top-funded schools are religious, absorbing over $1 billion in public funds.
One State Pushed Back. The Others Doubled Down.
Oklahoma’s story went differently. The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down Superintendent Ryan Walters’s Bible-based social studies standards in December 2025, ruling them unconstitutional. Walters resigned in September 2025. His successor rescinded all Bible-in-classroom policies.
Texas went the opposite direction. Governor Abbott signed SB 10 in June 2025, requiring every public school classroom to display a 16x20-inch Ten Commandments poster using King James Bible language. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction. The Fifth Circuit overturned it in April 2026. AG Paxton is now investigating districts that refused to comply. A companion bill, SB 11, allows daily prayer periods with parental consent.
Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law was blocked by a district court, then rescued by the Fifth Circuit in a 12-6 en banc decision in February 2026. Six dissenting judges called it an evasion of Establishment Clause precedent. The law is now enforceable.
The Money Pipeline
The First Amendment question is not limited to what hangs on the wall. It extends to where the money flows. Voucher programs across 18 states send roughly $10 billion per year to private schools, the vast majority of them religious institutions. North Carolina alone sent $371 million to religious schools. These schools can discriminate in admissions, hire only coreligionists, and teach creationism, all with public dollars and no accountability requirements.
What you can do now
- Contact your state legislators and tell them to oppose Ten Commandments display bills and Bible instruction mandates in public schools. At least 38 bills in 20 states have been introduced since 2023. If your state has one pending, testify at the committee hearing. Find your state page for contacts.
- Ask your state attorney general to challenge voucher programs that send public money to religious schools without accountability. In Missouri, 98% of voucher students attend religious schools. In Ohio, nearly 100% of top-funded schools are religious, absorbing over $1 billion. Find your AG at the AG finder.
- Attend your local school board meetings and ask whether your district has received pressure to display religious materials or implement prayer periods. Texas AG Paxton is investigating districts that refused to comply with SB 10. School boards need public support to resist.
- Tell your U.S. senators to oppose any federal voucher expansion that lacks anti-discrimination and accountability requirements. Voucher programs across 18 states send roughly $10 billion per year to private schools that can discriminate in admissions, hire only coreligionists, and teach creationism with no oversight. Use Resist Bot to send a message.