Officials at Denton ISD said the district has been posting donated posters of the Ten Commandments as they’ve received them since state lawmakers passed a law requiring it.
Last month, a religious nonprofit called Texas Values donated 1,200 posters showing the commandments from the Old Testament so that every Denton ISD student could see and read them.
“Texas Senate Bill 10 requires public schools to accept privately donated posters of the Ten Commandments that meet the specifications set out in the law and to display them in each classroom that does not already have one,” the district said in a statement.
“Denton ISD has received donated posters from community members and organizations on more than one occasion, including a recent donation.”
The statement confirms that officials go through “a routine step” to make sure any donated posters meet the specifications of the law, and then places them in classrooms that don’t already have one.
“These posters are display-only and are not connected to curriculum or instructional materials,” the statement said. “They are being placed in classrooms in order to comply with state law.”
Leaders from Texas Values held a press conference to announce the donation, and board member Steve Smith, who is also the CEO of the nonprofit Bible in the Classroom, asked district officials to launch an elective Bible course to high school students in Denton ISD.
Bible in the Classroom is a nonprofit Christian ministry that raises awareness of both the 2007 Texas law allowing the study of religious literature and the Bible as an elective course, and the textbook The Bible and Its Influence on Western Civilization. The textbook is associated with a course that was launched by the New York-based Bible Literacy Project in 2005, a year before states began passing laws to allow public schools to teach the Bible academically.
“The elective course mentioned in the article is separate from the donated posters, which fall under Senate Bill 10,” Denton ISD’s statement said.
“Offering it requires teachers to complete state-approved training that has not been available for several years, which has prevented the district from adding the course. Denton ISD previously explored offering the elective but could not proceed without that training and would welcome the opportunity to revisit it once the training is available again.”
The 2007 law added elective Bible course guidelines to the Texas Education Code, with training provided through the Texas Education Agency. The agency’s training resources include “Bible Literacy” in its online index, but the link appears to reach a dead end on the TEA social studies subject area page.
The law also requires the Bible courses to present course material that “shall not endorse, favor, or promote, or disfavor or show hostility toward, any particular religion or nonreligious faith or religious perspective.”
“Denton ISD remains committed to maintaining a welcoming environment that respects the diverse backgrounds and beliefs of all students and families,” the statement said.
Bible Literacy Project reports that 650 schools are using its class and textbook in 45 states. Texas leads all participating states offering the course, with 150 or more schools offering the curriculum. According to the nonprofit, four separate texts — two student texts and two teachers’ editions — cost $255. A minimum order of 20 student textbooks is required, though orders of 25 copies or more include a free teacher’s edition.
LUCINDA BREEDING-GONZALES can be reached at 940-566-6877 and cbreeding@dentonrc.com.
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