MONTGOMERY – Legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools passed the Senate Education Policy Committee on Wednesday.
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.
Kelley said the displays would also include quotes from the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Alabama Constitution’s preamble, with a disclaimer that Alabama is not establishing a religion.
“It’s not a religious document. 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 during the committee meeting. “There’s a lot of misconceptions out there and our rule of law is basically built on the Ten Commandments. We’ve got a history that’s undeniable that comes from these basic facts.”
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