On Friday, the Texas House passed a new bill that would authorize public schools to adopt policies allowing prayer and Bible reading during the school day, with parental consent.

Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign it — but he shouldn’t.

While religious freedom is a protected right, public schools are meant to serve students of all faiths and beliefs — equally. State-authorized prayer and religious readings blur the line between personal expression and government-endorsed religion, opening the door to coercion, exclusion, and classroom division.

What’s optional today could become pressured tomorrow — especially in communities where students may already feel marginalized.

We call on Governor Abbott to:

• Veto the bill that allows prayer and religious reading time in Texas public schools
• Uphold the constitutional separation of church and state in the classroom
• Protect the rights of all students to learn in an inclusive and religiously neutral environment
   

Religion belongs in families, homes, and personal lives — not in state-sanctioned classroom policy.