North Dakota bill seeks to put the Ten Commandments in every classroom

FARGO — A bill has been introduced at the North Dakota Legislature requiring a new addition to every public classroom in the state: the Ten Commandments.

House Bill 1145 is proposing the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and every higher education classroom. That goes for all state educational institutions and public schools.

Ultimately, what’s being proposed is that the text of the Ten Commandments would be placed in every classroom, but some are worried about the message that would send to students and their families.

Those behind the bill claim North Dakota’s Constitution was based on values that derive from the Ten Commandments.

“It just seemed not only important and necessary, and it just kind of dovetailed into being able to put the Ten Commandments back into the public square,” Sen. Jose Castaneda, R-Minot, said.

And while North Dakota’s newest legislative session just got underway, the topic is not new to the state.

A similar discussion took place in 2021 in North Dakota, passing through the state House and Senate, but that bill didn’t require the text be posted. And the Ten Commandments monument in Fargo has long stirred controversy.

Castaneda argues placing the text of the Ten Commandments in every classroom will instill North Dakota’s values in children.

“It’s important for everyone to be able to see them, and where do children spend their time? It’s in the classrooms,” he said.

The commandments would need to be displayed on an 11-by-14 inch poster, and the state Board of Higher Education would be allowed to spend money to purchase the displays.

“To get a high degree of something, there needs to be a lot of repetition, and where children receive that on a daily basis — in the classroom,” Castaneda said.

But some are worried about whether the bill violates the separation of church and state section of the U.S. Constitution.

“Public schools are not Sunday schools, and they are not for religious instruction,” Cody Schuler, the North Dakota advocacy manager with the ACLU, said.

Those against the proposal say the words of the U.S. Constitution should matter in this discussion.

“Really, by the state putting into law mandating one particular version of a religious document, it is showing preference, and that would be a violation, in our opinion, of the separation of church and state,” Schuler says.

The bill has yet to be assigned to a committee.

A bill with similar language was passed last summer in Louisiana before being struck down by a federal judge.

A lawmaker in South Dakota is also proposing the Ten Commandments be posted and taught in public schools.

Isak Dinesen joined WDAY-TV as a reporter in September 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist at WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin for three years. He graduated from NDSU in 2020, majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sports Communication at MSUM.