Three San Antonio school districts are being probed by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On Thursday, Paxton’s office announced it’s looking into Alamo Heights Independent School District, North East ISD and Northside ISD over two separate state laws related to religion in schools.
Passed during the 89th legislative session, Senate Bill 10 requires school districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and Senate Bill 11 requires school boards to adopt a policy either enforcing or rejecting a daily time of prayer.
As part of the investigation, Paxton is demanding school districts provide proof of a board vote on the implementation of SB 11 and produce documents regarding the display of the Ten Commandments and their policies regarding SB 10.
“I will always fight for students’ fundamental right to pray in our schools and work to ensure that Texas kids are able to learn from the Ten Commandments daily,” Paxton said in a statement.
Thursday’s investigation will look into 30 school districts across Texas, including districts in Houston, Austin, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi and El Paso.
School districts under more scrutiny
The state’s investigation comes on the heels of an increasing number of education laws that could put districts under more scrutiny from state officials.
Last year, districts were hit with a slew of legislation having to do with parental consent, religion in schools, safety and what can and can’t be discussed in a classroom.
Compounding the pressure districts are feeling, educators and students have also come under attack in recent months for public criticism of the federal government’s ramped up immigration enforcement.
Thursday’s investigation is not the first time this year that NEISD has become a target of the attorney general.
In February, Paxton launched an investigation into the district for “facilitating” student walkouts against immigration enforcement, demanding that the district hand over information regarding policies related to allowing students to leave campus, excused absence policies, district security protocols and internal communication.
NEISD spokesperson Aubrey Chancellor said the district has already handed over all the information Paxton’s office requested. “There has not been anything further on that.”
Ten Commandments are stop-and-go
SB 10 was held up in a months-long legal fight, as families from districts across Texas, including Alamo Heights ISD, tried to block schools from displaying framed posters of the Ten Commandments.
While a San Antonio federal ordered a preliminary injunction to block the districts named in the suit from displaying the religious signs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the law in April.
The plaintiffs, including several San Antonio-area parents and religious leaders, argued SB 10 infringed on religious freedom, but the court didn’t agree.
“SB 10 requires no religious exercise or observance,” the court said in its ruling. “Students are neither catechized on the Commandments nor taught to adopt them. Nor are teachers commanded to proselytize students who ask about the displays or contradict students who disagree with them.”
Now, school districts in Texas will have to comply with SB 10, which requires school districts to accept donations of the framed 16-by-20 inch posters or money for posters from the community.
North East ISD has received donations to enforce SB 10, and signs have been “put up and are on display in accordance with law,” Chancellor says.
Barry Perez, a district spokesperson for Northside ISD, said the district hasn’t received any donations related to SB 10 yet.
At Alamo Heights ISD, spokesperson Julie Ann Matonis said the district hasn’t received any donations for Ten Commandments posters either.
San Antonio schools reject daily prayer time
As for establishing a time of prayer, school boards had until March 1 to either adopt SB 11 or not. Most didn’t want to.
Almost no San Antonio-area district adopted daily prayer time, including Alamo Heights ISD, North East ISD and Northside ISD, reasoning that state law already protects students’ rights to prayer or silent meditation during the school day as long as it doesn’t disrupt instruction.
Out of 1,200 districts in Texas, only about 15 adopted a daily time of prayer for students, including Boerne ISD, a few miles north of San Antonio.
Alamo Heights ISD’s board quietly voted against SB 11 on Feb. 18, putting it on the consent agenda, which boards use to vote on several actions at once without public discussion.
At Northside ISD, the board unanimously voted against adopting daily prayer during a Feb. 25 meeting, and the board at North East ISD did the same at a Feb. 9 meeting.
