Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Senate will vote to require Ten Commandments in classrooms

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas Senate passes bills allowing time for prayer in schools, requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms

One bill would allow time for students and staff to pray at school. The other would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom.

Earlier this week, Louisiana passed a new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed inside public school classrooms and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says a similar law should be in place in the Lone Star State.

The lieutenant governor posted on social media saying Texas should already have the law in place if not for Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan.

Senate Bill 1515, requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in Texas public school classrooms, passed the Texas Senate in 2023.

"Every Texas Republican House member would have voted for it. But, SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill by letting it languish in committee for a month assuring it would never have time for a vote on the floor," said Patrick in a post on social media.

Patrick went on to call Phelan's inaction on the bills "inexcusable" and "unacceptable."

The lieutenant governor says he plans to pass a similar bill in 2025, when the Texas Legislature is back in session.

(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Patrick also criticized Phelan for delaying a vote on a bill that would allow school boards to vote on allowing prayer in schools.

"Conservative faith-based bills DON’T HAVE A PRAYER UNDER SPEAKER DADE PHELAN," Patrick wrote.

Phelan narrowly survived a primary challenge in this year's election, despite the efforts of Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who endorsed his opponent.