A bill cruising through the Ohio State Senate's Education Committee would require all schools in the state to display one of nine "historical documents," in every classroom with one item on the required list sparking backlash from multiple opponent groups: The Ten Commandments.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Chief Lobbyist Greg Daniels called the inclusion of the Judeo-Christian code of conduct in a list of required displays in public schools unconstitutional.
"You can't efficiently secularize the Ten Commandments," he said.
Daniels said the display of religious texts in schools has repeatedly been struck down in courts based on the Constitution's First Amendment protections for freedom of religion.
"The First Amendment quite wisely requires government to be neutral," he said. "You can't advance religion. You can't inhibit religion."
WATCH: ACLU of Ohio bucks legislative attempt to display Ten Commandments in Ohio Schools
The Ten Commandment's inclusion drove questioning by Cincinnati Democratic state Sen. Catherine Ingram of bill sponsor and Cincinnati Republican state Sen. Terry Johnson in February.
She asked him why it was important to include that particular text instead of other religious documents.
"The Ten Commandments, like the other documents, are foundational certainly. When you look at when our country was founded, they are front and center of the minds of our founding fathers," Johnson said.
In a later proponent hearing, bill supporters like Tim Throckmorton with The Family Research Council argued the Ten Commandments were consistently referenced in early America and the display of the text would benefit young people and families in Ohio schools.
"I think this wonderful opportunity to place the Ten Commandments in school rooms will point young minds toward our founding and all of the documents that make up this great nation," Throckmorton said.
Daniels argued the text was inherently religious, with multiple commandments specifically referencing a single God, and any court would likely knock down the law if passed and then challenged with a lawsuit.
"They are the government, and they are constitutionally mandated to remain neutral with regard to this," he said. "And here you have the legislature, or at least part of the legislature, trying to lean on them and, again, trying to 'hide the ball' and say, 'Hey, look, this is just a choice among a bunch of other documents, but the motivation is quite clear.'"
The bill has had three readings in the Senate's Education Committee and could soon be voted for consideration by the full Senate.
WCPO reached out to multiple districts to weigh in on the bill.
A Cincinnati Public School District representative said with the bill still in committee, it's too early to comment on it, but promised the district would continue to "be a law-abiding school district."
Little Miami Schools officials declined comment.
Mason City Schools responded with the following statement:
"Mason City Schools believes in the importance of local control and trusts our educators to create classroom environments that support student learning and engagement. We value our teachers’ expertise in designing developmentally appropriate spaces that reflect their class’s curriculum and students. As always, we will monitor any legislative developments and work to ensure that our schools remain places where each student discovers purpose and potential."
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