Public Education
When government actions require schools or students to teach, display, or participate in religious beliefs, they violate religious freedom.
Across the country, education policies are turning civic institutions into instruments of religious preference. When government mandates introduce religious texts, symbols, or practices into public schools — where attendance is compulsory — no student should have to choose between their beliefs and their place in the classroom. When that choice is forced, pluralism weakens, and civic life becomes conditional.
Where Religious Freedom Is at Stake in Public Education
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Ten Commandments Displays in Public Schools
Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas have enacted laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law, which took effect in September 2025 and represents the largest attempt in the nation to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools. When government uses compulsory institutions to post a specifically Christian religious text, students of other faiths have no choice but to sit beneath it.
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Bible-based Content Mandates
The Texas State Board of Education approved the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum in 2024 — an elementary reading and language arts program created by the Texas Education Agency — that critics say overemphasizes Christianity. Oklahoma’s then-Superintendent Ryan Walters issued a directive requiring all public schools to incorporate the Bible into their curricula for students in fifth through twelfth grade. In both cases, government officials used public education infrastructure to advance a single religious tradition.
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State-sponsored Prayer and Religious Observance
Texas Senate Bill 10 requires every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments, and a separate Texas law — SB11 — allows public school districts to adopt a voluntary period for prayer or the reading of religious texts during the school day. When schools organize or officially accommodate religious practice, students face pressure to participate as a condition of belonging.
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Public Funds Directed to Religious Schools Without Safeguards
The federal “big, beautiful bill” signed into law in July 2025 establishes the first national school voucher program, creating tax credit scholarships that families can use at private schools, including religious ones. In Missouri, nearly 98 percent of the state’s voucher funding has gone to religious institutions. Public money flowing to schools that operate outside public accountability requirements puts pluralism at risk.
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Policies that Exclude Students Based on Belief
The Bluebonnet curriculum covers Judaism almost exclusively in its biblical period and makes only brief mention of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism — implying, taken as a whole, that Christianity holds greater importance than any other religious tradition. When government curricula treat one faith as primary, students from other traditions are made to feel like outsiders in institutions built to serve everyone.
How is BJC Addressing Public Education?
BJC is working to end government-mandated prayer, Ten Commandments mandates, school vouchers, and Bible-based curriculum in our work with people across the country.
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In the courts
BJC filed an amicus brief in Roake v. Brumley, challenging Louisiana’s law requiring the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. In February 2026, the full 5th Circuit vacated the lower court’s injunction and remanded the case for further proceedings, allowing the law to take effect while litigation continues. The fight is not over — as-applied challenges remain available once displays are implemented.
BJC also filed an amicus brief in Oklahoma v. Drummond, working to prevent government funding of a religious charter school. In May 2025, a deadlocked Supreme Court affirmed the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling blocking the school, though the 4–4 split sets no nationwide precedent.
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Stopping the Federal Voucher Program
In Illinois, we gathered people concerned about the school voucher program to urge Gov. Pritzker and the legislature to decline participation in the federal program, which would divert public funds to private and religious institutions in ways that serve children unequally and entangle religion with government.
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Opposing State-Organized Prayer
Our local group in Texas has been particularly active, working to share a faithful response to policies that limit freedom. In the face of a state-organized prayer in school law that required districts to vote on creating such a time, we worked with others to empower parents, students, teachers, and clergy to share their opposition, and nearly all of the 1,200 school districts in Texas rejected the proposal. Many adopted an alternative resolution supported by our coalition that emphasized religious freedom already protected in schools, thereby protecting students from coercive and overbroad state-sponsored religious expression.
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Resourcing Teachers
Teachers in Texas were asking for resources related to the mandate to post the Ten Commandments in public schools, so we created a resource page for public school teachers that has updates on the latest in the litigation, provides information they need, and reminds them of their rights.
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Testifying at the State Board of Education
Throughout 2026, we brought people to the state capitol in Texas to protect the faith freedom of children by testifying in front of the State Board of Education (SBOE) about a problematic reading list. Texts from the Bible are used, and the proposal lists the state of Texas as their author. More than 200 members of the clergy signed a letter to the SBOE, noting that the state “does religion no favor by becoming its sponsor.”
Latest updates on our work with public education
Press Release
First Amendment, pluralism undermined in decision to uphold Texas Ten Commandments mandate
April 22, 2026
Hollman: When the state mandates a religious text on every classroom, it is not just decorating a...
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Podcast
Best of: A decision that continues to create misguided claims: Kennedy v. Bremerton
March 19, 2026
A 2022 decision from the Supreme Court continues to sow confusion and misguided claims four years...
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Press Release
Diverse Coalition Champions Religious Freedom in Texas Public Schools
March 10, 2026
A statewide coalition of diverse organizations and Texans across the state successfully empowered...
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Press Release
More than 160 Texas faith leaders oppose state-organized prayer
January 8, 2026
“We believe in the value of religious instruction,” reads the letter. “We also understand that the...
Read MoreJoin us in this work!
We are in conversations with states and communities across the country, working to empower people to call out problematic proposals that infringe of the rights of families and schoolchildren. Be sure you’re signed up for our email list so you can know of opportunities for action in your area! Using this link lets us know you are particularly interested in joining our work in public education.
Resources
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PDF
Religious Liberty in Public Schools
This 1-page PDF has simple reminders about the rights and responsibilities of students in public schools.
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PDF
A First Amendment Guide
From our partner at the Freedom Forum, this answers 23 frequently asked questions about religion and public schools with concise statements of current law.
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Podcast
What's the trouble with school vouchers?
This podcast from 2024 explores the issues with government-funded religion.
