PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — A divided South Dakota Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, setting up what could be a constitutional showdown.
After over an hour of passionate debate over religious freedom and local control, senators voted 18-17 to require the biblical laws be posted in every classroom and taught alongside other historical documents.
“Many of us breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the destructive and divisive policies of the last few years come to an end,” said Sen. John Carley, R-Piedmont, who sponsored the bill.
Worried about potential lawsuits, senators adopted an amendment requiring the state to cover schools’ legal costs.
“When Louisiana adopted this, it was immediately challenged in court,” Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, warned. “I just don’t want our school districts to have to pay that cost.”
The amendment passed on a voice vote.
Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, a pastor and lawmaker, argued that children deserve to understand the nation’s religious roots.
“Children have a right to know the truth about the founding of our great nation,” Blanc said. “They have a right to know why the founding fathers mentioned belief in God in the Declaration of Independence.”
But Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, drawing on classroom experience as a former teacher, blasted the mandate.
“We’re sitting here talking about smaller government while forcing schools to put up these displays,” Smith said.
The debate took an emotional turn when Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, sought to include Native American values, citing the painful history of forced Christian education in tribal communities.
“Many see this bill as perpetuating the legacy of the 1868 federal boarding school initiative,” Foster said. Foster’s amendment failed.
Attorney General Marty Jackley has pledged to defend the law if challenged. Several organizations have offered to donate the required 8-by-14-inch displays.
The bill now heads to the House.
