MONTGOMERY — Legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools passed the Senate on Tuesday.
The bill by State Sen. Keith Kelley (R-Anniston) would require each local board of education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in each history classroom serving students in fifth through 12th grade, and a common area of each school that serves only students in fifth grade or above.
The bill would condition the requirement on the availability of donated displays or donated funds to purchase displays. The bill would require the State Department of Education to identify and publicize free resources that local boards of education may use to comply with the display requirement.
The Senate passed the bill after Republicans passed a cloture petition to limit Democrat debate on the bill.
Kelley said the bill's purpose was to "acknowledge the historical role of the Ten Commandments and the broader Judeo-Christian tradition in shaping American civil society."
"It's a historical founding document that builds on how our culture, how our law, and how our nation was formed through a historical standpoint," Kelley said.
The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
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