Bill would require Ten Commandments to be displayed in Alabama schools
Under HB178, all local boards of education and public colleges must display the commandments and a context statement.
The bill requires the display to be at least 11 inches by 14 inches and be placed in a common area, such as a library. The bill stated that donations could be received to fund the display and no board of education would be required to use funds to pay for it.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Mark Gidley, a pastor in Glencoe Alabama, and has been co-sponsored by 21 Republican representatives. It has since been referred to the House Committee on Education Policy.
Alabama voters approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2018 that allows public display of the Ten Commandments. However, it is not required, with legal scholars arguing the federal litigation that could ensue from it.
In 2003, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was ousted from the bench for refusing to remove a marble monument including the Ten Commandments from the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building in Montgomery.
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