ND House Bill 1145 Sparks Debate Over Displaying The Ten Commandments In Schools
By Ann Estvold,
NDNA Legislative Intern
North Dakota’s school boards already have a state law that gives them the ability to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, if they are accompanied by other historical documents. Now, lawmakers are debating whether to require posting the commandments in every public K-12 and college classroom.
The debate is among advocates who say the Ten Commandments provide a foundation of morals and values - and that teaching them in school was once broadly accepted - and opponents who say the compulsory posting of them in public classrooms would violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on establishing a state religion.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Mark Enget, R-Powers Lake, said the commandments are historically and morally important outside of their Christian religious context. “They are pure and good and build strong families which in turn build a strong society,” said Enget.
The House Judiciary Committee is reviewing HB 1145, which would require posting the Ten Commandments in the state’s public K-12 and college classrooms. The panel held a hearing January 14 and did not make an immediate recommendation about whether the bill should be approved or defeated. Dozens of interested people have posted testimony on the Legislature’s website, with the majority being opposed to the bill. Dozens of people also attended the hearing in person, although time limits prevented many of them from testifying.
Tim Barton, president of WallBuilders, a Texas based organization that promotes the teaching of Christian history, said the Ten Commandments were taught in schools until after a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case, called Lemon vs. Kurtzman.
The Supreme Court has since reinterpreted aspects of the “Lemon test.” In a 2022 case, Kennedy v. Bremerton, the Supreme Court ruled the establishment clause should be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understandings.
In light of the Kennedy ruling, House Bill 1145 would not violate the First Amendment, because there is a long history and tradition of the Ten Commandments being taught in schools, argued Janice Lorrah of the Pacific Justice Institute, a legal nonprofit that describes itself as focusing on defending civil liberties. “The passage of HB 1145 will enable students in the state of North Dakota to know the history and traditions of our legal system,” said Lorrah.
KrisAn Norby-Jahner, legal counsel for North Dakota School Boards Association, and other opponents of the bill said HB 1145 differs from the Kennedy case, which was filed after a football coach was fired for praying with his players after a game. “A school employee choosing to exercise a constitutional right is different from a public school being required to adopt and display a specific religious observation,” said Norby-Jahner.