religion in schools

The day after Ryan Walters officially resigned as Oklahoma's Superintendent of Public Instruction, another state official is calling for a post-mortem on his spending at the State Department of Education.

Senate Bill 11, which went into effect on Monday, allows school boards to set aside time for voluntary prayer or the reading of religious texts during classroom time.

The lawsuit says the law requiring public classrooms to display the Ten Commandments "unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, reverence, and adoption of the state's mandated religious scripture."

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, even though a similar Louisiana law was deemed unconstitutional. Supporters say Christianity is core to U.S. history.

After nearly three hours of oral arguments Wednesday, an Oklahoma County district judge said he isn't ready to rule on a legal challenge to the state's controversial social studies standards.

A group of Oklahoma parents and advocates has released a waiver for material championed by State Superintendent Ryan Walters, but the state department says it is not enforceable.

A deadlocked Supreme Court blocked the creation of the nation's first publicly funded religious charter school, but some lawmakers said this isn't where the fight ends.

Senate Bill 10 now goes back to the Senate for concurrence before advancing to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign it into law.

The sweeping legislation creates Education Savings Accounts, which allow parents to use state tax dollars toward private education costs. With $1 billion in initial funding, Texas' program is the largest day 1 plan of its kind in the nation.

The case debates whether charter schools are state entities forbidden from adopting a religious faith.