Georgia public schools would have until July 1 to hang posters displaying the Ten Commandments in three different places on each campus, if lawmakers approve a bill filed this week.
House Bill 313, filed by Rep. Emory Dunahoo, R-Gillsville, makes the case that the Ten Commandments is a foundational document of state and national government. It would add the commandments to a list of American historical documents schools are encouraged to post publicly, including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The Ten Commandments were written in the Bible and became a central part of Christianity in the 13th century.
Louisiana became the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges last year. Lawmakers in Texas and Montana have attempted to pass similar bills.
A federal judge ruled in November that Louisiana’s requirement is “unconstitutional on its face.” Attorneys general in 18 states — including nearby Alabama, Florida and South Carolina, but excluding Georgia — filed a brief supporting the law in the ongoing legal battle. The case is expected to make it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In addition to setting a deadline, the Georgia bill outlines several requirements for the displays: The posters must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall; must be displayed at the main entrance of the main building, the main entrance of the school library and the main entrance of the cafeteria; and must be a framed copy or “a durable poster.”
It also emphasizes that public funds cannot be used to purchase the posters or framed copies. Instead, schools are required to accept donated posters.
The required text
HB 313 would require schools to display the Ten Commandments, as well as a “separate context statement.” Here’s the exact text from the bill:
The Ten Commandments
I AM the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
The history of the Ten Commandments in American public education. The Ten Commandments were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries. Around the year 1688, “The New England Primer” became the first published American textbook and was the equivalent of a first grade reader. “The New England Primer” was used in public schools throughout the United States for more than 150 years to teach Americans to read and contained more than 40 questions about the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were also included in public school textbooks published by educator William McGuffey, a noted university president and professor. A version of his famous McGuffey Readers was written in the early 1800s and became one of the most popular textbooks in the history of American education, selling more than 100 million copies. Copies of the McGuffey Readers are still available today. The Ten Commandments also appeared in a textbook published by Noah Webster which was widely used in American public schools along with America’s first comprehensive dictionary that Webster also published. His textbook, “The American Spelling Book,” contained the Ten Commandments and sold more than 100 million copies for use by public school children all across the nation and was still available for use in American public schools in the year 1975.
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